Russian jewelry manufacturers are asking the Ministry of Finance to withdraw the flexible export duties on a variety of goods, including jewelry, imposed from October 1, 2023, the amount of which depends on the ruble-dollar exchange rate.
The Jewelry Guild of Russia sent a letter to the Ministry of Finance with a proposal to exclude jewelry from the list of goods subject to flexible export duties, kommersant.ru reported.
This type of a duty was introduced by the Government of the Russian Federation from October 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024 for a wide range of products - from vegetables, fruits, dairy products, fish, live animals to precious metals and stones, as well as ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
Duties are set only for export outside the EAEU, their amount is 4-7% at the rate of 80-95 rubles per dollar. If the dollar value is below 80 rubles, the rates are reset to zero.
Manufacturers believe that additional fees will reduce the competitiveness of Russian jewelry in foreign markets, kommersant.ru writes.
Market participants, however, recognize that the share of jewelry exports outside the EAEU is insignificant. However, even this volume allows especially small companies to maintain the profitability of their business in conditions of reduced demand for jewelry in the domestic market.
The Ministry of Finance did not respond to a request for comment. Earlier, the ministry noted that it does not see risks for investment programs and operational profitability of companies that have fallen under the flexible duty.
According to the Federal Customs Service, in 2021, jewelry exports increased by 58% year-on-year, to $144.38 million. There is no official data for 2022, as the service has temporarily suspended publication.
The General Director of the Association of Jewelers Vadim Serov, for his part, estimates the volume of exports in 2022 at $115 million.
At the same time, the situation in the domestic Russian market for jewelry is also not the best. After a recorded growth in 2021, the jewelry demand decreased by almost 7%, to 308 billion rubles, Infoline notes, predicting that by the end of 2023 demand will increase by only 3% - 5%, to 317-325 billion rubles.
Such a slight increase is associated with a rise in the price of jewelry that by the end of September this year increased by 25% in annual terms.
Alex Shishlo for Rough&Polished
