Getting to Russia

Recommendations for Printech exhibitors on visa support, logistics services and money transfers

1. Visa support

Due to the stabilization of the situation in the country and in the world, we inform you that the Organizer does not provide visa services for participants and guests of exhibitions. This decision was made in order to offer our clients professional services through our reliable partners.

You have the right to use the services of any agency from the list or to apply to any other agency yourselves to issue entry documents.

At the same time, we will continue to issue invitations on the letterhead of the organization for citizens of China and India.

Muyessara Tursun (ITE China) is responsible for issuing invitations for citizens of China and Ana Jonic-White (ITE Dubai) is responsible for issuing invitations for citizens of India.

2. Logistics

We recommend using the following companies to help with logistics:

The main routes for the delivery of goods to Russia in 2022

Now goods are imported into Russia from countries that have imposed sanctions, but through transit states – Armenia, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Georgia. The same applies to parallel imports. A parallel import is a non-counterfeit product imported from another country without the permission of the intellectual property owner.

In general, there are four main types of shipping methods: air cargo, ocean freight, rail transport and DDP shipping. Each type of shipping method has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it is important to consider all of your options before making a decision by contacting recommended logistics company (see above).

Kazakhstan. Freight transportation from Kazakhstan to Russia has always been popular, and after Kazakhstan joined the EAEU Customs Union in 2010, trade relations between the countries have become even more productive.

Turkey. Its possible to combine transportation: goods can be sent along the Black Sea to Novorossiysk, as well as transported by truck through Georgia. Turkey is increasing the export of its goods to Russia, and also acts as a transit zone for European and Middle Eastern goods. Georgia. Goods from Azerbaijan and some European countries are transported through this country.

3. Money transfers

When working with banks that are not included in the sanctions lists (for example, Raiffeisen bank), there should be no problems with transferring funds to and from Russia. The main thing is that bank should have foreign correspondent accounts.

If foreign partners do not want to work with banks from Russia, many Russian companies open an account with a foreign bank. For example, in Kazakhstan or Armenia, this can be done without becoming a resident.

Cutting off from SWIFT does not paralyze money transfers within Russia since it has a national alternative to SWIFT – System of Transfer of Financial Messages (“SPFS”). Most of Russian banks are already connected to it.

As to international money transfers, banks which are not able to use SWIFT anymore, will be able to use other means of communication (e.g., e-mail, telex communication, etc.) provided that the banks involved in money transfers on both sides agree on such alternatives. Using such alternative means of communication shall significantly delay the duration of payment operations in comparison to using SWIFT and might lead to the increase of bank fees.

In addition, international banks might not be willing to use outdated means of communication and refuse to conduct money transfers if they involve Russian banks disconnected from SWIFT.

Each case conducting payments via banks which are cut off from SWIFT and fall under sanctions must be assessed in terms of potential liability for the breach of sanctions. In case of doubt it is advisable to switch to alternative non-sanctioned banks.

It must be noted that certain banks are connected to SPFS outside Russia:

SPFS connections outside Russia which provides an alternative in situations when it is not possible to use SWIFT anymore:

Switzerland: Gazprombank (Switzerland) AG
Kazakhstan: АО «Subsidiary Bank «Alfa-Bank» (Kazakhstan), DO AO Bank VTB
Belarus: 27 local banks
Armenia: 2 local banks

4. Why go to Russia despite the challenges

Russian market key facts:

• Russia is the 6th largest economy in the world, $4,2 trillion GDP by purchasing power parity
• Russia has the highest GDP per capita among the BRICS countries $27,903
• Russia has about 10% of all arable lands in the world located mainly in the Central Volga region, the Northern Caucasus, the Urals and Western Siberia.
• The transport system in Russia is one of the most extensive in the world, including more than 120,000 km of railways, 1 million km of roads, 230,000 km of main pipelines, 100,000 km of inland waterways.
• Today’s Russia has one of the most developed in the world market of mobile communication. It is the largest country in Europe in terms of the number of Internet users. More than 80% of the population has broadband Internet access.
• There are 130m internet users in Russia which is c.90% of population. Russia is on 6th place among leading countries by use of internet.

The Russian market has always been and will continue to remain attractive for foreign producers, despite increased economic pressure from sanctions. The reason is the market’s dependence on imports in a wide variety of industries.

Products in high demand

The share of imports is high, where products should be replaced by the offers of new suppliers: i.e. rubber and plastic products – 26.8%, paper – 19.9%, furniture – 14.5%, textiles – 12.5%. As for building materials, almost all Russian bricks, as well as tiles, porcelain stoneware, sanitary ceramics, are produced on imported equipment – mainly from Europe and the USA.

5. How to do business in Russia in times of sanctions?

Example of trade scheme used by international suppliers to eliminate risks:

• The Russian company finds the right product, for example, in Europe. Arranges for the purchase of goods through an agent in Turkey.
• The Russian company agrees on the terms of the transaction with the Agent in Turkey and transfers the money to the Agent's account in rubles.
• The agent receives the money and transfers it to the seller in Europe already in Euro.
• The seller in Europe receives the money to the account and ships the goods.
• An agent from Turkey picks up the Goods from the Seller in Europe and delivers them to the SEZ (Special Economic Zone) territory.
• The buyer from Russia pays for the road and commission to the Agent in Turkey and waits for the goods in a warehouse in Russia.
• The agent delivers the goods to the Buyer in Russia.

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