Not just a fish
Entrepreneurs in the region are actively exploring foreign markets: foreigners are ready to buy products from local producers. Now the five main partners are China, the Republic of Korea, Kazakhstan, the Philippines and Türkiye. In total, the region’s exports go to 32 countries. Among them are the countries of North and Southeast Asia, the Republic of Belarus and others. The regional Export Support Center helps local companies enter the foreign market.
“In 2023, ten companies received the “Partner Search” service, four have already signed contracts and six are continuing negotiations,” said Mikhail Sergienko, director of the Export Support Center of the Khabarovsk Territory. -In his speech before the Federal Assembly, the President proposed the task of multiplying exports of agricultural products by 1.5, a task that our region is fulfilling. We have surpassed the pre-pandemic level and interest in products from local suppliers grows every year.
According to statistics, these are not only frozen fish, soybeans and crabs, which have always been in demand on the foreign market, but also highly processed products. Recently, the proportion of fish and minced fillets has been increasing, soft drinks and juices are gaining popularity, and products such as cookies, confectionery, ice cream, and food additives based on seafood and seaweed are being introduced.
Within the framework of the national project “International Cooperation and Export”, small and medium-sized businesses can count on the support of the Center for Educational Excellence. In total, there are more than twenty types of assistance: from providing a translator and finding a partner abroad to registering a trademark and participating in international exhibitions. The main thing is that the product has time to prove itself on the Russian market and is protected from copying in foreign markets. The latter is very important: without a trademark registration certificate, foreign craftsmen can easily reproduce the products.
From warehouse to counter
The CPE is prepared to accompany an entrepreneur in all stages of the export cycle. Self-employed workers can also apply to travel abroad; They will also receive assistance, but with the caveat that they will register as legal entities.
Today, one of the most popular types of support is compensation for logistics costs. CPE bears 80 percent of the costs of transportation of export products through the territory of the Russian Federation, from the warehouse to the border. Some services are offered free of charge: for example, an entrepreneur does not invest in finding a partner company abroad;
– Just five years ago there was more talk about the export of products from the forestry and fishing complexes, as well as goods from the fuel and energy group. The pandemic has had a tremendous effect on the formation of new trends in international trade: the promotion of “healthy nutrition” and environmentally friendly products, and the active use of e-commerce channels. The Export Support Center of the Khabarovsk Territory actively integrated into these trends and achieved the first results in 2023, said the director of the Export Center.
In the Khabarovsk Territory, foreigners are attracted to endemics: wild plants and berries are considered ecological products. Omega-3 supplements based on seal oil, algae syrup and capsules are highly valued and are happy to buy fish products.
We try the jam
Is it possible to conquer the foreign market by producing food? Business owners often ask CPE specialists this question.
“It is not necessary to be a monopolist, it is enough that your product is of high quality,” confides the director of the Electrical Production Center. – We helped two Khabarovsk companies to present their products to foreign consumers: coffee with Far Eastern berries and jams with endemic species.
The family business Gusto is one of those that the Ethics Center helped take the step abroad. After three months of negotiations, a large distributor from Kazakhstan became interested in the product of the Khabarovsk company.
– At the Export Center they found us potential buyers, helped us organize the negotiations and we reached an agreement with the Kazakh partner. Then they sent the first batch to Belarus,” says the company director, Daria Limanova. – We want to attract foreigners with a new line of Far Eastern berries. We spent almost a year creating it, perfecting the tastes and collecting the best that our land can give. This is a jam made from nine types of berries that grow even in the Far East: service berry, lemongrass, lingonberry and Sakhalin red blackberry. We hope that people abroad can taste and appreciate the strength and energy of our taiga.
The company produces more than 2.5 tons of jams and preserves per month. So far, the proportion of exports is only 10 percent, but there are plans to reach 50 percent, so as not to offend local customers and fully feed foreign customers.
“We roast coffee and supply it to retail chains in Khabarovsk, we work throughout the Far East: Sakhalin, Amur region, Primorye Territory,” explains company director Alexey Zayats. – We ferment coffee with berries, make concentrates, then roast it and obtain a drink with aromas of Far Eastern berries. The CPE helped us develop a website and translate it into English. I didn’t understand how to look for clients abroad, but with support we did it.
This year the products of local companies will be presented within the framework of the Days of the Khabarovsk Territory in the Republic of Belarus. The company also presented a new product line in Mongolia: a trade mission of regional companies took place there.
Another task of the Center is to develop the export of tourism, educational, medical services and creative industries: animation, design, fashion, IT. Thus, we have already presented tours of the region to Chinese tourists at an international exhibition.
