ISSUE 3 2010


RUSSIA / EASTERN EUROpE


The road to customs reform is never smooth in Russia. Wolfgang Haase, division manager for European Network Management & Logistics Systems at German- based Dachser says that while plans exist on paper to move all customs clearance to Russia’s borders, it isn’t clear how that would work for clearance for some of the neighbouring Asian countries such as Kazakhstan. At present, much of those countries clearances are carried out on their behalf at customs posts in Moscow. “A customs union is an expressed desire, but so far there have been no legal descriptions of processes and so on – nothing is really clear.” Many of the neighbouring countries’ duties and tax regimes are different from Russia’s so it is hard to see how a customs union can be made to operate. Customs clearance is a sensitive


issue both for Russia itself and the central Asian countries because, unlike in the west where governments derive most of their income from import VAT and duties rather than income tax and corporation tax.


Russia’s customs problems have lately come to the attention of President Dmitry Medvedev himself, who recently said that problems were discouraging potential investors. It is also hampering Russia’s efforts to develop its exports, said the President. He suggested that reducing the number of physical inspections to something like the levels of other advanced economies like the UK, Germany or US, could be part of the solution. Managing director of Dachser


Russia, Anton Maryukhta, adds that one problem is that infrastructure at Russia’s borders is lacking. Currently, the border stations are only geared up to carry out relatively short, quick transit clearances, not full ones. At the same time, much of the customs clearance process is still paper- based, and sending paper takes time. While the customs declaration itself could be made electronic, that does not apply to certificates of conformity or signed letters. It is possible that emailed, scanned versions would be acceptable, but this has not been confirmed, says Anton Maryukhta.


“So I expect a lot of problems – but the problems will have to be solved somehow, otherwise there’ll be no food in Russia.” The reform process is currently running behind schedule and, while it may have been agreed at the political level, many of the practical details are still lacking, says Mr Maryukhta. Centralisation of Russian customs can be over-stated, adds Wolfgang Haase. “We still find a lot of local variations. Yes, there is talk and articles in the newspapers, but it’s still complex and you need to know how to work with the customs administration in different parts of the country.” Already closure of a couple of customs offices in St Petersburg led to congestion in the city for several weeks over the summer as traffic crowded into the remaining ones, with trucks being held up for over a week. As might be expected, traffic


to Russia has taken a hit in the recession, says Wolfgang Haase, but Dachser is continuing its development there. The cost of money went up and industries


working mainly on loans quickly found themselves in trouble although Dachser was helped by the fact that it has kept its local subsidiaries in Russia fairly small. One plus side is that warehouse rents, which had become very expensive especially in Moscow and the big cities, have come down drastically and there is now a surplus of high-quality space. “We don’t see the very high rent levels coming back in the foreseeable future,” says Wolfgang Haase. Dachser’s strategy remains one


of developing regional offices throughout Russia. It already has a presence in Moscow, St Petersburg, Samara and Nizhniy Novgorod but it plans to build a presence in other cities in time. Novorossiysk, Vladivostok and Yekaterinburg are among the likely first possibilities, says Anton Maryukhta. “With those we could cover all the most important cities, but it is all still under discussion.” There are around a dozen cities with populations of a million or above. Dachser is also developing business between its regional


offices elsewhere in the world including India and China to and from Russia. Finding good people who


can work independently of head office is key, he adds. Vladivostok is a long, long way from Moscow, or anywhere else in Russia for that matter. The Russian market is growing again in several sectors, including car manufacturing and DIY products, although there has been a shift away from importing ready-manufactured goods towards materials and components for factories in Russia itself. So far, Dachser has held back


from setting up its own intra- Russian trucking network as there is not the volume to justify it, although it does have a fleet of delivery vehicles for the Moscow area. What there are in Russia are hauliers who offer a reasonable service on specific routes between individual cities, as existed in most western European countries until a few years ago. While not a network as such, “they are comparatively reliable and we can work effectively with


27 Dachser sees rocky road to customs reform


them,” says Wolfgang Haase. Anton Maryukhta says: “The


trucking market has recovered. Whereas at one point business was down 50%, it’s now recovered to the point where it is only down 10% from the peak.” Companies are fighting each other on price, but a shortage of capacity is starting to emerge. Many of the trucks themselves have been taken back from bankrupt hauliers by the leasing companies but many are available for sale at attractive prices. More of a problem is the


shortage of drivers. As in the West, it’s an ageing profession and the Indiana Jones spirit, which made people willing to drive thousands of kilometres on bad roads in inhospitable country, doesn’t seem to exist so much these days, believes Anton Maryukhta. Dachser finds that rail isn’t


really an option except for the really long distances above 1000km. It is not competitive on price on the shorter distances and it is impossible to get precise arrival times from the rail operator. Security is also a worry for higher-value goods.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32