The head of the holding Megapolis Group took part in the meeting on the development of the Russian light industry

At a meeting, held in Ryazan on August, 24, the prospects of the industry and ways to combat the production of counterfeit products were discussed. The report was made by the Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov. Among the speakers of the proposal for measures to support the manufacturers of the Russian light industry was Konstantin Kuzin.

Among the problems, hampering the development of the industry, Vladimir Putin identified counterfeiting and smuggling, which not only undermine competition in the domestic market, but also threaten the health of citizens. According to the President, for the development of the industry it is necessary to support the growth of business activity in the domestic light industry and to stimulate the appearance of new successful productions. For effective growth it is necessary to strengthen measures to fight with counterfeiting and smuggling, as these phenomena devalue the measures of state support.

The head of the Ministry of Trade Denis Manturov spoke about the work to reduce the share of illegal products on the market, the successful measures being realized to struggle counterfeiting and state support for the industry.

“In order not to hold the positive processes, that have emerged in the industry, we consider it necessary to keep in state support at least in today"s volumes. For the year, we have about 3 billion rubles,” Denis Manturov said.

In his speech, Konstantin Kuzin expressed the consolidated opinion of the producers of the domestic light industry, supported by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Now Russian enterprises are able to compete successfully not only in the domestic market, but also on the external one, in particular - in the European and American. However, in foreign markets domestic products are opposed not only by the products of competitors, but also by the protectionist industrial policies, that are being realized in these countries.

“Manufacturers of the domestic light industry are facing barriers in the form of, for example, 12% of the import customs duty,” said the head of the Megapolis Group, “in this situation, it is difficult for us to compete in these markets, although Russian goods are absolutely competitive in terms of price-performance relation.”

During his speech, Konstantin Kuzin appealed to President Vladimir Putin with a proposal to expand the state support for domestic producers, coming to the world markets in terms of subsidizing the import customs duty, which will give an impulse not only to the development of the industry, but also to the growth of the country"s economy.