«Nearly one-third of goods produced in Sverdlovsk Region is meant for export, and our share of exported goods has been going up since 2002. Our export volumes have grown by more than 2.5 times over the last five years. The figures came to $7.5bn last year and are believed to exceed $8bn in 2007. All in all, the region’s foreign trade turnover volume is expected to amount to more than $11bn this year,’ Head of Sverdlovsk Region Government Viktor Koksharov announced at a meeting of the Russian Federation Ministry of Economic Development and Trade with Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs’ Coordinating Committee.

'Metals and metal-based products make up for more than 60% of the goods we export. The chemical industry produce constitutes 18% of our export. As regards these two export items, we’ve been selling more of these abroad thanks to the favorable global prices. At the same time, the volume of machine-building produce that we ship abroad has remained the same over the last few years», Mr. Koksharov noted.

«Over 40% of goods that we export go to the European Union (the Netherlands (32%) and Germany (8%)) and 20% of goods are exported to the U.S. Then, 14% of goods exported go to the CIS (mainly to Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan). Our export to the EU has tripled over the last few years, which can be explained by the efforts made by the region’s business community and their cooperation with the authorities. Nizhniy Tagil Iron and Steel Works (part of Evraz Group) is one of Sverdlovsk Region’s leading exporters», Mr. Koksharov observed.