Russia currently bans the export of raw amber stones.
Why does Russia ban the export of amber raw materials?
Russian amber is in Kaliningrad. The largest amber company is called the State Amber Company (referred to as Jacques Company). The company was founded in 1947. Once established, it was included in the list of national strategic enterprises of the former Soviet Union. Enterprises are protected by the state. The coastal mine located on the outskirts of Kaliningrad belongs to the National Amber Joint Company. It is currently the only legal amber mining mine and accounts for 70% of the world's output of raw amber.
After the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, many of the organizational structures and business models of Jacques Company still retained the former Soviet model. The industrial structure and business model were backward and the output value was low. Although the Russian government allowed local jewelry processors to transfer from Jacques Company Purchase amber raw materials, but in the face of the monopoly created during the Soviet period, many small companies cannot obtain sufficient raw materials, and the entire amber industry is still dominated by the Jacques Company.
In order to seek greater profits, Jacques Company began to export amber rough stones to neighboring countries in 1994. The amber processing led by Jacques Company gradually shifted towards the production of rough stones. According to Russian official statistics, as of 2011, the Kaliningrad region The output value created by the amber processing industry accounts for only 0.35 of the total local industrial output value. Most of the rough stones produced in the region are exported to Poland, Lithuania and other countries, and amber processing and sales have brought huge profits to these countries.
In order to change this situation, as early as December 31, 2011, Russian President Medvedev officially signed a presidential decree, deciding to remove Jacques from the list of national strategic enterprises, introduce market mechanisms, and promote The Russian amber industry is developing healthily. At the same time, Kaliningrad has also formulated preferential policies to attract foreign companies to invest and build factories, driving the upgrading and transformation of the amber industry.
Today, two years later, Russia’s amber industry is still exporting a large amount of raw materials and can only create very low value. Therefore, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to ban the export of amber raw materials in 2014. The purpose was still for economic interests and he wanted to keep the higher added value of the amber industry in Russia.