After almost half a year of living in the unknown, Lithuanian amber processors have been given a new hope that they will get raw amber from Kaliningrad, writes Tomas Kavaliauskas of www.lrt.lt
Amber product manufacturers and exporters association together with the Lithuanian Consul in Kaliningrad, Vaclov Stankevič, met with the management of Kaliningrad amber factory. Lithuanian businessmen received an assurance from the factory’s managers that they can once again expect to receive raw amber.
Last summer, after a change of management in the Kaliningrad factory, the amber trade came to a halt. It is estimated that 95 per cent of world’s raw amber is in Kaliningrad. Traders and processors feel the lack of amber up to now.
“For me, as a consul, it was important to show that the Lithuanian businessmen want to work in a transparent and legal manner. They are willing to cooperate with the amber plant, and these efforts paid off – we agreed on some of the next steps. It is a completely different political field in Kaliningrad region, and in Russia in general. Market economy laws work in Lithuania, but here [Kaliningrad], it is still very much centralised and there is much more bureaucracy,” explained Stankevič…..
….There are around 10,000 people in Lithuania working in the amber industry. According to the head of the association, about one million tons of raw amber is required to fulfil their needs. Most of the domestically produced products are exported.
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Source: the Lithuania Tribune