You can’t put it any further – Newspaper Kommersant No. 61 (7506) dated 04/10/2023

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. The demand for such areas 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 logoparks in the CIS countries. The situation could be corrected by the entry of Russian developers into these markets. But experts also talk about the lack of ready-to-build sites there.

The number of requests from Russian companies for warehouses in post-Soviet countries doubled by the beginning of spring, to almost 400,000 sq. m. m, calculated in NF Group. Interest in the CIS markets began to grow sharply last year, when it was necessary to establish logistics chains for parallel imports to Russia, analysts say.

Belarus, Kazakhstan and the Central Asian 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, the Business Lines Group explains. The emergence of transit through third countries has increased the demand for cross-dock operations, adds Alexei Misailov, director of business development at FM Logistic in Russia.

According to the Federal Customs Service, by December 2022, the volume of parallel imports since its launch in March reached $20 billion, or about 2.4 million tons of goods. In addition, a number of international companies are considering working in the CIS as an opportunity to continue business with the Russian Federation, adds Evgeny Makarov, vice president of warehouse logistics at Noytech Supply Chain Solutions, which is starting to implement several projects for the supply of goods to the Russian Federation through the CIS countries.

The main demand for warehouses in the post-Soviet space is formed by large retailers, including those from e-commerce, and logistics operators, NF Group notes. About 80% of requests come from Wildberries and Ozon, confirms Alexander Perfilyev, commercial director of Ghelamco, a developer of logoparks.

In December, the Kazakhstani edition of Kapital reported that Wildberries were offered two warehouses and plots for the construction of logoparks in Astana and Almaty. The company told Kommersant that they are constantly looking for new warehouse space to increase the speed of delivery of orders, and therefore there is a need for such facilities in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and other countries.

In January 2023, Ozon opened a sorting center and office in Bishkek, and in February launched the first fulfillment center for 10,000 sq. m. m in Kazakhstan, expecting to increase the delivery time to the Russian Federation by one and a half times. According to Alexey Sapon, COO of Ozon in the CIS, since 2021 the marketplace has a logistics infrastructure in Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, which allows increasing the number of sellers from these countries on the online platform by 50% and reducing delivery costs.

However, the noticeable growth in demand by Russian companies for warehouse space in the CIS countries has faced a serious shortage of supply. According to NF Group partner Konstantin Fomichenko, there are practically no vacant spaces in Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, in Belarus the vacancy rate in logoparks does not exceed 2.8% of 1.6 million square meters. m of finished facilities, in Uzbekistan – 4.5% of the 207 thousand square meters. Lack of storage infrastructure complicates the further growth of parallel imports to Russia, says one of the logistics operators.

In this situation, one of the ways out is for Russian companies in the CIS to conclude built-to-suit deals (ordering the construction of warehouses for their own needs), says Anton Alyabyev, senior director of the CORE.XP warehouse and industrial real estate department. But, according to him, the problem is the lack of professional developers of logoparks in these markets, so Russian developers can actively start implementing built-to-suit projects in these markets. But, warns Konstantin Fomichenko, in the CIS countries there are not so many sites prepared for construction for warehouses.

Daria Andrianova, Alexandra Mertsalova