Further growth of parallel imports to Russia, the volume of which exceeded $20 billion, may be complicated by the lack of storage infrastructure in transit countries, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Kommersant reports.
The demand for such storage facilities from Russian logisticians and retailers has doubled, it is already difficult to find suitable objects. There are few professional developers specializing in the development of logistics parks in the CIS countries. The situation could be corrected by the entry of Russian developers into these markets. But experts also say about the lack of ready-to-build sites there.
The number of requests from Russian companies for warehouses in post-Soviet countries increased by 40-50 percent by the beginning of spring to almost 400,000 square meters, NF Group says. The CIS countries have become the main alternative channel for the import of products from Europe, the USA, Japan to the Russian Federation and the export of Russian goods to foreign markets.
According to the Federal Customs Service, by December 2022, the volume of parallel imports since its start in March reached about 2.4 million tons of goods. In addition, a number of international companies consider working in the CIS as an opportunity to continue business with the Russian Federation, said Yevgeny Makarov, Noytech Supply Chain Solutions Vice President for Warehouse Logistics.
The main demand for warehouses in the post-Soviet space is formed by large retailers, including those from e-commerce, and logistics operators.
About 80 percent of requests come from Wildberries and Ozon.
But the noticeable growth in demand by Russian companies for warehouse space in the CIS countries has faced a serious shortage of supply. There are practically no free spaces. Lack of storage infrastructure complicates the further growth of parallel imports to Russia, one of the logistics operators says.
One of the ways out in this situation is conclusion of built-to-suit deals (ordering the construction of warehouses for their own needs) by Russian companies in the CIS, says Anton Alyabyev, Senior Director of CORE.XP Warehouse and Industrial Real Estate Department.
