Mikhail Sutyaginsky: We have moved to the level of cooperation when business helps business!

Within the international exhibition "Khimia" a roundtable discussion "Principles of development of inter-industry cooperation and vertically integrated companies" was held, where representatives of SMEs and large companies discussed the issues of chemical industry development.

The discussion speakers were Mikhail Yurin, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Victor Ivanov, President of the Russian Union of Chemists, Andrey Shpilenko, Deputy Chairman of Omsk Region Government, as well as representatives of large domestic companies: Sibur, Polyplastic, Metafrax and others.

Opening the event, Mikhail Sutyaginsky, Head of the Chemical Industry Committee of Business Russia, noted the fact that taking into account the focus on import substitution, VIOCs/VICs (vertically integrated oil companies/vertically integrated companies) should review formats of work with large, medium and small businesses in favour of the domestic market. This idea is expressed in one way or another in the Concept of Technological Development for the period till 2030.

"As part of the Concept implementation, the Megaprojects mechanism has been established - one of the most important mechanisms of technological development. In 2023-2024, it is planned to implement at least 10 large industrial projects in Russia with volume of investments about 10 billion rubles each. First of all, the projects include import substitution of critical chemical products. And this work, of course, is possible only jointly - the state, vertically integrated oil companies, large companies, SMEs, - Mikhail Sutyaginsky noted. - Clusters, technology parks and special economic zones are some of the effective mechanisms that can contribute to implementation of the challenges today".

At the same time, according to the head of the Chemical Industry Committee of Business Russia, the issue of price formation for the products of the basic processing of petrochemical products manufactured by vertically integrated oil companies remains topical. In the follow-up processing of these products by both petrochemical and chemical industry enterprises, it is impossible to clearly forecast the production plan due to the uncertain pricing policy of vertically integrated oil companies. Such a trend may lead to a decline in production or its inability to provide the domestic market with the required products, and as a consequence, to job cuts, which will only increase social tensions. "It is also important to share experience between vertically integrated oil companies, big business and SMEs. The challenges we face today are to find and create breakthrough technologies and projects that will enable us to provide the industry, and alongside with that - related industries, with critical products," Mikhail Sutyaginsky considers.

Mikhail Yurin, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, gave vertically integrated companies two possible roles for today - they can take upon themselves production, as they have resources and infrastructure, on the other hand - they can be guarantors of demand. He also mentioned successful examples of co-operation with SMEs, when the Ministry assists them in finding financing, understanding markets, etc., the most recent successful example was the production of raw materials for perfume and cosmetic products. In addition, the Ministry is engaged in an active dialogue with the industry, thus, due to joint work, we managed to make progress in the formation of a new import substitution plan for chemical products: in 2020 there were less than 100 items in the import substitution plan, in 2022 - more than 300 items, today - 708 items in the import substitution plan, which is being approved. And, of course, the involvement of vertically integrated companies in its implementation in cooperation with SMEs will make it possible to achieve the required effect.

Andrey Shpilenko, Deputy Chairman of Omsk Region Government; Representative of Omsk Region affiliated to the Government of the Russian Federation, emphasised the role of clusters and industrial technology parks in the development of cooperation between large companies and SMEs. "Clusters provide an even greater synergistic effect when combined with another instrument of territorial industry development - industrial technology parks and industrial parks, as clusters answer the question where to take projects, and parks - where to locate them. In addition, the interaction between science and business is important in clusters, and in this relationship an important role is taken by the Industrial Cluster Specialized Organization, which may have agreements with science organisations and which are authorized to apply for technology development or conduct patent searches. Such collaborations produce real results.

At the end of the session, Mikhail Sutyaginsky invited large companies and vertically integrated oil companies to the Supplier Day, which is held on the basis of Business Russia. It is useful for both large businesses and SME representatives. The expert also noted that in March Omsk will host another scientific and practical conference, where key issues of the chemical industry development will be outlined.

All proposals announced at the round table will be submitted to the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation.

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