Russian firms boost international presence 

The number of non-energy exporters from Russia has grown by 57% in six years, statistics have shown

The number of Russian companies involved in international trade has increased by over 50% in less than a decade due to the expansion of businesses not related to energy exports, the director general of the Russian Export Center, Veronika Nikishina, announced on Monday.

The number of exporters rose from 45,500 in 2016 to 71,500 last year, the official said at a State Duma round table dedicated to Russian small and medium-sized businesses (SME). 

“As a result of state support for non-commodity and non-energy exports, the number of Russian companies involved in world trade grew by 57% over six years, which provided a significant contribution to Russia’s investment activity and the economy,” Nikishina noted.

She added that exports contribute to growth in profits and allow Russian SMEs to expand rapidly by reaching out to international consumers. 

Earlier, German Gref, the head of Sber, Russia’s largest state-owned lender, criticized the small proportion of SMEs in the economy, which account for just one-fifth of the country’s GDP.

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He cited the example of China, where SMEs account for between 60% and 70% of the economy, adding that in the US and Finland small businesses account for around 60% of GDP, while the figure is over 70% in Italy.

In 2021, the contribution of SMEs to Russia’s GDP was 20.3%, according to the national statistics agency Rosstat. That figure is expected to grow to 32.5% by 2024 under a series of national schemes designed to support SMEs.

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