OREANDA-NEWS. On June 30, 2009 the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade held an Award Ceremony “Russia’s Best Exporter in 2008”. The ministry’s experts selected Kola MMC, a subsidiary of OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel as a winner in the category “Best Russian Exporter in the Nonferrous Industry (nonferrous metals)”. Deputy minister for Industry and Trade A. Dementiev presented winners with honorary diplomas and gifts, reported the press-centre of Norilsk Nickel.

121 organizations and companies supplying their products abroad have applied for participation in the contest, which was held as part of the state program to support industrial production exportation. After initial selection 56 organizations and companies from different industry branches were chosen to participate. The winners were selected based on the review of submitted documents and using calculations derived from the contestants’ consolidated export reports.

According to Vladimir Strzhalkovsky, General Director and Chairman of the Management Board of MMC Norilsk Nickel, the world’s nonferrous metals industry is experiencing tough times. Demand is down, production of nickel and copper exceeds considerably the need for the metals, and prices for our core products went down sharply. However, Kola MMC’s success in this contest demonstrates once again the stability of companies – members of Norilsk Nickel Group, said Strzhalkovsky.