An economic potential
The republics major industry is the food industry. Food enterprises
produce canned meat, vegetables and fruit, confectionery, pasta,
vodkas and wines, rose and sage oil, and many other products.
The joint stock companies Adygea Canned Food Works, Fabmai and
Maikop Confectionery churn out high-quality products which are
in great demand in Adygea, Russia and beyond. Adygea exports products
manufactured by the mechanical engineering, woodworking and food
industries to 17 countries worldwide. Agricultural produce is
widely assorted and ecologically clean. Favorable climactic conditions
and fertile soil allow for cultivating various cereals and crops
such as wheat, barley, corn, rape, rice, sunflower and many scent
and oil-bearing plants. The republic takes pride in its tea, which
is grown farther north than any other in the world does, and is
very popular with connoisseurs. A poultry farming is another major
agricultural branch. The republic produces chicken, geese and
duck. A farm producing dietary turkey meat, one of the largest
in the CIS, is located in Adygea.
Joint stock and other companies are the basic organizational and
legal I form of economic activity in Adygea's agricultural sector.
Horse-breeding has been the Adyghe people national pride since
time immemorial. Now the once-forgotten industry is being revived.
Specialists of the Maikop horse-breeding factory and the state
pedigree horse stable are preparing to breed racehorses. Horse
racing is not only an exciting sport, but also a highly viable
source of capital investment. The Maikop Experimental Station
of the Vavilov AU-Russian Institute of Horticulture was established
over 60 years ago. New varieties and hybrids of fruit and vegetables
are created here. The station boasts one of the largest I collections
of fruit trees in the world. Valuable varieties of apples, pears,
plums, cherries, grapes and other fruit, as well as medicinal
herbs that are grown in Adygea. Every year, young sturgeon bred
by the Adyghrybkhoz association are released into the Azov Sea.
The republic's economy is not just agriculture, however. Adygea
has a rather well-developed industry: aside from the food industry,
mechanical engineering and metal-working play an important role
in the republic's economy. The woodworking industry is one of
Adygea's traditional strengths, and this sector produces commercial
timber, saw-timber, parquet and furniture. Recent years have witnessed
increasing ties with foreign countries. The republic's foreign
trade is on the rise and reached $30 million last year. Currently,
dozens of countries maintain business relations with Adygea, including
Germany, the U.S., Turkey, Britain, and Italy. Adygea exports
machines, various types of reduction gear, furniture, cardboard,
seeds of oil-bearing plants and food. Major import items are mechanical
engineering products, consumer goods, ferrous metals and petroleum
products. A total of 480 enterprises, representing 61 percent
of the national economy, have been privatized in the republic,
spawning dramatic changes in the production sphere. The private
sector of the economy accounts for 51 percent of industrial production,
while private trade represents 62 percent of the national total.
The share of private farms in production of major agricultural
produce is also growing.
The development of small business in the republic efficiently
solves many problems that arise during the transition to a market
economy. As many as 1,947 small businesses have been registered
in Adygea. Nearly 13,000 people, or almost 10 percent of the republic's
work force, are employed in small businesses, which alleviates
unemployment problems. The rate of development of small businesses
in industrial branches is also increasing. At the beginning of
1996, there were 506 industrial small businesses, which is 26
percent of the total number of small businesses. A preferential
customs regime is in force on the territory of the republic. Adygea's
enterprises and organizations are exempt from customs duties on
goods imported to the republic for the needs of the state. The
Russian government has assigned regional export quotas for saw-timber,
commercial timber, and fuel oil and aluminum powder. Those privileges
boost foreign economic activity and are aimed at attracting investors.
Seventeen joint ventures with foreign companies of Britain, France,
the U.S., Turkey, Syria, the Czech Republic and other countries
have been set up in Adygea on the basis of close cooperation with
representatives of Adygea's government and other partners.
Export commodities, including for Britain, are supplied by the
joint stock companies Tochradiomash (washing machines), Druzhba
(furniture, chairs, parquet), Frunze Plant (vertical borers),
Reduction Gear (reduction gear of various modifications), Vneshkontrokt
(casein, rape seeds, oil-bearing plants), and the Republican Consumers'
Union (honey, medicinal herbs) among many others. It will be of
great economic advantage if investors and entrepreneurs focus
their attention on the development of tourism and sports hunting,
the broad application of the healing qualities of our thermal
mineral water, and the completion of structures at the Maikop
Center for Production of Highly Pure Insulin.
Adygea has a rather well-developed industry. It launched production
of highly pure insulin in Maikop. For the first time in Russian
Adyghe scientists together with their colleagues from St. Petersburg
have developed and applied successfully a new technology for production
of natural insulin whose pharmacological properties match world
standards. The capacity of the Maikop-based production association
of the Center of New Medical Technology of the Russian Federation
Ministry of Healthcare and Medical Industry allows providing all
people suffering from diabetes in Russia with this valuable medicine.
A number of foreign countries have show-great interest in Russian
insulin produced Maikop.
Export commodities are supplied by joint stock companies Tochradiomash
(washing machines), Druzhba (furniture, chairs, parquet), Frunze
Plant (vertical machines), Reduction Gear (reduction gears of
various. modifications).
Agricultural produce is various and ecologically clean.
The favorable climatic conditions and fertile soil allow for growing
various cereals and crops such as wheat, barley, corn, rape, rice,
sun flower as well as ether- and oil-bearing plants. The republic
takes pride in its northernmost tea in the world. Poultry farming
is a major agricultural branch. The republic produces meat of
chicken, geese and ducks, turkeys.
Horse-breeding has been the Adyghe's national pride since time
immemorial. Currently, the once forgotten industry is being revived.
Specialists of the Maikop-based horse-breeding factory and the
state-hold pedigree horse stable are developing sports horse-breeding.
Mineral wealth
Oil and gas are Adygea's most valuable minerals. Maikop "white"
oil is known the world over. The properties and resources of the
republic's thermal and mineral water are also unique. They contain
a wide range of microelements such as iodine, bromine, boron,
arsenic, zinc, cobalt and barium, to name but a few. The republic
has considerable reserves of raw materials for production of cement,
lime and glass. The deposits of building, facing and semiprecious
stones are located in Adygea's mountainous regions. Clay and mixtures
of sand and gravel are found on the plains. The greater part of
the region's huge clay deposits is now being developed. Bricks
and expanded clay aggregate are in production. Maikop's clay has
remarkable properties that allow for production of tile, glazed
tile, ceramic sewer-pipes, Mettlach tiles and faience (a type
of glazed earthenware). In addition, the republic has high-quality
limestone. Manifestations of molybdenum, tungsten, polymetals,
rare-earth metals, silver and gold have also been discovered in
Adygea's mountainous areas.
Forest treasure-house
Forests cover almost 40 percent of the republic's territory. Oaks,
beeches, hornbills, ash-trees, maples, Caucasian silver firs,
spruce and pines grow in the mountains, while poplars, elms, willows
and limes decorate the valleys.
Adygea's forests (oak, beech, hornbill and ash-tree) are used
for making furniture and by the woodworking industry of the Northern
Caucasus. Some 150 tons of medicinal raw materials and 170 tons
of wild fruit are procured annually. Financiers who fund the development
of this natural treasure will quickly regain their initial investment.
Inhabitants of mountains, forests and steppes
Adygea is the home of nearly 60 types of mammals and about 200
kinds of birds. Bison, deer, Kuban goats, North Caucasian chamoises,
bears, lynxes, wild boars and wild goats live in the mountains.
Hares, foxes, wolves, goats, pheasants, thrushes, quails, woodcocks,
wild ducks and pigeons populate the steppe.
Note:
This information is taken from official web site Adyghe Republic
(www.istnet.ru/~kma)
