Ukraine-made Christmas tree decorations exported to developed countries; few if any available in Ukraine
Christmas Eve means that the supermarkets and street markets are all out to attract customers. However, a closer look at the merchandise shows that between 80 and 90 percent originates from [the People’s Republic of] China, with a spattering of decorations from Russia and Belarus, and with remaining small percentage of domestically made decorations.
Natalia Kazantseva, head of the Ukrmetroteststandrt’s certification laboratory, comments on this market availability. She is convinced that the Ukrainian merchandise is better than the Chinese, Russian or Belarusian.
The fact remains that the domestic market is swamped by Chinese goods. Most of them are delivered illicitly, so competing with this black market supply is easier said than done. “There are between 10 and 12 Ukrainian manufacturers of competitive goods. These companies supply their goods to Europe,” says Kazantseva.
Why do we have few domestically made goods on the Ukrainian market? The Day asked the administration of the toy factory in Klavdievka, near Kyiv, for comment.
The reply came from Chairman of the Board, Nikolai Sarkisjan: “We have practically no business contacts with Ukraine because it is waiting for December to start purchasing [Christmas tree] decorations. We are doing business with Russia, but we are transiting the bulk of our goods to Canada and America.”
Sarkisjan says that his business has failed to build contacts with counterparts in France, just like Ukraine, because they wanted to buy their goods cheap and then sell them at standard prices. In a word, they wanted to sell Ukrainian toys at a profit.
What does Sarkisjan’s factory in Klavdievka have to offer for a market outside Ukraine? The chairman of the board says they have discarded mechanical blowing in order to achieve a higher quality level, because mechanical blowing always leaves a “scar” in the vessel, so they most use manual blowing. Sarkisjan says their assortment is diversified and that they are prepared to accept orders using the customer’s specifications. For example, the so-called corporate Christmas decorations have become quite popular of late, including a given company’s logo. Sarkisjan’s company, however, is not prepared to meet serious, exclusive commissions. A recent example is a British offer to make refined Christmas tree decorations which the company management had to turn down because this commission would have taken too long to comply with and the company would be better off doing smaller contracts using set decoration standards.
Nevertheless, the secret of the Ukrainian Christmas tree decoration lies deeper. To reveal it, it is necessary to discover how Ukrainian these decorations are actually are.
The result of this research is that most materials required for the manufacture of these Christmas glass vehicles are ordered abroad. Thus, the glass tubes, later used to blow such decorations, are purchased in Poland, while the powder and paints are ordered in Germany. Packaging is the only domestic product: “This is the only product the Ukrainians have learned to make good,” says Nikolai Sarkisjan.
Another interesting fact is that all Christmas decorations produced by the Klavdievka factory are custom-made, more often than not ordered by foreign customers. As it is, toys made in Ukraine are exported to Canada, the United States, Germany, Russia, and other countries. Klavdievka people say their Christmas decorations are unavailable in Ukraine.
