Parallel imports through Kazakhstan increased tenfold

More than a week ago, in the next issue of the comedy TV show Comedy Club, a presentation of a parody advertisement of the Familiar Kazakh mobile application was held, with the help of which every Russian would allegedly be able to buy goods of brands that have left the domestic market that are not available in Russia. The comedians proposed to solve this problem in an application that will help them order goods through their neighbors.

“Download our application, choose a “familiar Kazakh”, and he will buy you everything you need. For the convenience of buying clothes, we will select a "familiar Kazakh" of your size. As soon as the "familiar Kazakh" buys the right product, he will immediately send it to you. “Familiar Kazakh” - to every Russian”, - the advertisement says.

Joking aside, Kazakhstan is becoming the main destination for shopping tours from Russia and is already bringing a very good profit to this country.

Kazakh businessman Davlet Assylbekov in his blog provides impressive data on parallel imports of goods to the Russian Federation through Kazakhstan:

1. Computers - an increase of 116.6 times.
2. Cell phones - growth by 39.4 times.
3. Medicines – 60% increase.
4. Candles and generators for cars - an increase of 1886.4 times.
5. Electronic circuits (chips) - growth by 20.5 times.
6. Spare parts for equipment – growth by 52 times.
7. Monitors and TV - an increase of 187.8 times.
8. Feed for animals - growth by 15.1 times.
9. Printers - growth by 257.8 times.

And the Kazakh edition of Azattyq Rýhy, with reference to the Bureau of National Statistics of this country, sums up the shopping results of the first half of 2022 in the hotel business:

“The accommodation facilities provided services in the amount of 67.7 billion tenge, which is 52% more compared to the 1st half of 2021. There is also an increase in the number of foreign tourists served by accommodation places by almost 2.5 times compared to the same period last year”.

Leads the publication and the views of the Russians. So a resident of Omsk Anna Moiseyenko says:

“Now my family and I often go shopping in Kazakhstan, since the range of many goods in Russia has decreased quite a lot. And some brands have left the market altogether. We, in turn, discovered alternative shopping for ourselves and now we combine business with pleasure: we not only go to visit relatives, but also make pleasant purchases at the same time”.

In this regard, Kazakh bloggers are asking the question: “Will we become the same for the Russians as Dubai is for the Iranians? By the way, household goods are not subject to secondary sanctions, since these companies themselves left the Russian market. So, there should be no bad consequences..."