The purchase of raw amber from Sambia will be even more difficult

Wieslaw Gierlowski

A number of successive privatisations and reprivatisations of the Kaliningrad Amber Factory have not only failed to prevent the ongoing losses in the Factory’s business, but also led to an adverse effect for the entire amber processing sector in the Russian Federation and among the traditional purchasers of the raw amber abroad, especially in Poland. Amber output is falling, the mining equipment has not been replaced for decades, while the costs and keep rising.

The heralded privatisation of the Kaliningrad Amber Factory State Enterprise in Yantarny through the purchase of its debts towards the Factory’s suppliers and towards the Federal and Oblast’ treasuries (of the Administration of the Kaliningrad Oblast’), which was to be performed by the powerful Almazy Rossiyi (Alrosa) joint-stock company, did not happen. The Russian state remitted the tax and bank debts of its enterprise, which remains the sole owner of two joint stock companies: the Kaliningrad Amber Factory JSC, which mines amber, and Yuvielirprom JSC, which processes it, and a trading company with a chain of four profitable jewellery stores.

In mid-May 2008, a new director was nominated for the company umbrella enterprise, who came from Moscow with a programme for further limitations in mining and the development of the processing business in Yuvielirprom SA, with the simultaneous reduction in raw amber sales to private Russian companies and the existing importers of Russian amber. Somewhat earlier, in March 2008, the sales prices were raised significantly for Russian companies that previously received clearly preferential treatment in this respect over foreign customers, including even the three foreign companies owned by citizens of the Russian Federation, which previously had the lion’s share of the export licences, with 97% of the total licences issued (Wikwol Poland, Pajurio Gintaras Lithuania and Taurus Taiwan).

Currently, the following price list applies in respect to private Russian companies:

The Kaliningrad Amber Factory Raw amber price list
in domestic transactions wholesale net prices excl. VAT
No. raw amber category in roubles in euros
1 unique, sorted, 1st grade 500-1000 g 29.763 827
2 unique, sorted, 2nd grade 500-1000 g 24.407 678
3 unique, sorted, 3rd grade 500-1000 g 21.356 593
4 unique, sorted, 300 - 500 g 21.356 593
5 unique, unsorted 300-500 g 19.831 551
6 sorted 300-500 g 15.864 440
7 jewellery quality, opaque 200-300 g 19.220 534
8 jewellery quality, unsorted 200-300 g 16.780 466
9 jewellery quality, opaque 100-200 g 16.475 458
10 jewellery quality, unsorted 100-200 g 14.247 396
11 layered, collectors’ 300-500 g 12.600 350
12 souvenir quality 300-500 g 10.434 290
13 layered, collectors’ 200-300 g 10.068 280
14 souvenir quality 200-300 g 9.366 260
15 layered, collectors’ 100-200 g 8.817 245
16 souvenir quality 100-200 g 7.932 220
17 impure, black 200-300 g 5.766 160
18 impure, black 100-200 g 5.095 142
19 jewellery quality 50-100 g 12.203 339
20 jewellery quality 20-50 g 10.678 297
21 jewellery quality 10-20 g 9.458 290
22 jewellery quality 5-10 g 8.542 237
23 jewellery quality 2,5-5 g 6.102 170
24 collectors’ 50-100 g 5.431 151
25 collectors’ 20-50 g 4.576 127
26 collectors’ 10-20 g 3.386 94
27 collectors’ do 10 g 2.715 75
28 impure, black 50-100 g 2.380 66
29 impure, black 20-50 g 2.044 57
30 impure, black 10-20 g 1.708 47
31 impure, black do 10 g 1.251 35
32 impure, black do 5 g 1.098 31
33 souvenir quality 50-100 g 4.332 120
34 souvenir quality 20-50 g 3.966 110
35 souvenir quality 10-20 g 3.600 100
36 souvenir quality 5-10 g 3.051 85
37 souvenir quality 2,5-5 g 2.349 65
38 unsorted from sieve +16 mm 3.234 98
39 unsorted from sieve +14 mm 1.708 47
40 from sieve +11,5 mm 1.220 34
41 from sieve -11,5 mm 610 22
42 from sieve +4 mm 186 5
43 from sieve -4 mm 68 2

For the purpose of calculating the net sales prices in euros, the May 2008 mean exchange rate was used: 1 euro = 36 roubles
VAT in Russia amounts to 18% of the net price and is collected upon purchase. This price list is valid for unlicensed contractual transactions. The price list was approved by Mr P.V. Koritnikov, the Director of the Kaliningrad Amber Factory JSC on 17 March 2008.

The current domestic prices in Russia for amber varieties suitable for jewellery have exceeded the prices set for foreign customers in 2005, which is illustrated in the following table (not all varieties were included in the 2005 price list):

Jewellery quality raw amber varieties
comparison of May 2005 export prices with the March 2008 prices for Russian customers
  2008 2005
No. category roubles euros euros
44 unique, sorted, 300-500 g 21.356 593  
45 unique, unsorted 300-500 g 19.831 551 460
46 sorted 300-500 g 15.864 440  
47 jewellery quality, opaque 200-300 g 19.220 534  
48 jewellery quality, unsorted 200-300 g 16.780 466 430
49 jewellery quality, opaque 100-200 g 16.475 458  
50 jewellery quality, unsorted 100-200 g 14.247 396 380
51 jewellery quality, 50-100 g 12.203 339 265
52 jewellery quality, 20-50 g 10.678 297 230
53 jewellery quality, 10-20 g 9.458 290  
54 jewellery quality, 5-10 g 8.542 237 175
55 jewellery quality, 2,5-5 g 6.102 170 150
56 unsorted from sieve +16 mm 3.234 98 85
57 unsorted from sieve +14 mm 1.708 47 40
58 from sieve +11,5 mm 1.220 34 25
59 from sieve -11,5 mm 610 22  
60 from sieve +4 mm 186 5  
61 from sieve -4 mm 68 2  

When assessing the actual situation we should consider the fact that in practice the 2005 price list was not respected and last year’s export prices per kilogram of high-quality amber weighing 300-500 grams exceeded 1,400 euros.

bursztyn1. Specimens of sorted jewellery quality amber at a sales price of 593 euros per 1 kg


bursztyn2. Example of a collectors’ nugget weighing 20 g with the mesh effect of shrinking during the drying of the resin retained on its surface – price: 127 euros per 1 kg


bursztyn3. Jewellery quality amber, “cabbage-leaf” variety, easy to clarify – weight: 102 g, price per 1 kg = 458 euro


photo: Gabriela Gielowska