Export laws: how the Moscow manufacturers conquer Europe

Goods from Moscow can be found in almost any country, including on the shelves of European stores. The capital’s manufacturers export their products to all the states of the European Union, but the major part of the deliveries goes to Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Finland.

“Moscow showed the record export results to the EU countries in the first quarter of this year. Thus, the export of the capital's non-resource-based non-energy products to the European market amounted to 1.6 billion US dollars, which is 46.2 percent higher than in the same period last year. The capital can be considered a driver for development of economic relations with the European Union — it accounts for the half of the trade turnover between Russia and Europe,” told Vladimir Yefimov, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Economic Policy and Property and Land Relations.

According to the analytical data provided by the Mosprom Center for Export Support and Development, in the first quarter of this year, the trade turnover between Moscow and the member states of the European Union grew by two percent and reached 27.46 billion US dollars.

From organic cosmetics to integrated circuits

The European Union, of course, is a single economic space, but each country has its own preferences in the choice of goods. Moscow delivers a lot of immunological preparations to Italy, in particular, dietary supplements. Telecommunications equipment, such as headphones, speakers, microphones, is exported in large quantities to the Netherlands. Finland is mainly supplied with computer equipment units.

Industrial products are leading in the export to the EU countries. Only in the first three months of 2021, Moscow manufacturers supplied industrial goods for the amount of 1.57 billion US dollars to Europe.

Chemical products, mechanical equipment, electronics and recycled products are in the greatest demand with Europeans. Among the recycled products, the leaders are polypropylene, polyethylene, as well as electronics for industrial equipment.

According to Alexander Prokhorov, Head of the Moscow Department for Investment and Industrial Policy, Moscow can offer the Europeans high-tech goods. In particular, components for the electronics and automotive industry — integrated circuits, chip cards and similar microelectronic products.

He considers that it is worth paying attention to a relatively new direction — organic cosmetics. Moscow manufacturers have long ago established themselves in the European cosmetic market, but it is namely the organics that have a high potential for export today. Even now, organic cosmetics from Moscow are exported to Latvia and Lithuania, Poland, Germany and the Netherlands.

Export horizons

In the coming years, the priority countries for the development of Moscow exports will be Germany, Poland, Austria and Slovenia — over the past three years, they have been demonstrating stable positive dynamics.

“Since the beginning of 2021, Moscow has increased its export of non-resource-based goods to most of the EU countries. This trend indicates the expansion of the export activities of the capital's companies in the European markets, which in turn increases the brand awareness of the Moscow industry and the loyalty of European buyers,” noted Natalya Shuvalova, General Director of the Mosprom Center.

Support of vendors

The European market is one of the strategic areas, and the Mosprom Center specialists help the capital companies discover this area. Among the enterprises that are already exporting to the European Union are the manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries, inspection equipment, fiber-optic measuring current transformers, equipment for processing cocoa and chocolate, and others.

The Mosprom Center buyer's program helped some of them enter the European market. Over the past year, four business missions have taken place: to Germany (for exporters of agro-industrial products), to Italy (for exporters of cosmetic products), as well as to Hungary and Czechia (for industrial manufacturers). For example, after the business mission to Czechia, one capital’s engineering company signed an agreement with a local distributor for the supply of lithium-ion batteries.

The Mosprom Center provides individual support to the capital companies-exporters of industrial and agro-industrial products free of charge. The Center's experts help manufacturers find counterparties and negotiate with potential foreign buyers, as well as provide them with participation in international exhibitions and business missions. In addition, Mosprom analyzes the target markets for capital's manufacturers.

The foreign trade activities of capital companies are also supported by the Moscow Export Center (MEC). Its specialists help the exporters prepare documents for receiving subsidies and grants and conduct personal analytical studies of foreign markets. MEC organizes foreign business missions that help in promoting the capital's products abroad. For example, right now the Moscow companies may submit applications for participation in business missions in France and Finland.

Increasing the awareness of the capital’s brands is performed also through the “Made in Moscow” program.. It has been operating since 2016 and allows exporters to present free of charge their products at Russian and foreign exhibitions under the single brand Made in Moscow. Only in 2020, despite the pandemic, more than 500 Moscow enterprises participated in 27 leading foreign exhibitions. And at business meetings, it was managed to conclude over 30 export contracts.