Federal Customs Service head Andrey Belyaninov's emplyees saw no crisis in September imports.
Photo: Vasily Shaposhnikov
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Imports Not Affected by Crisis
The Federal Customs Service estimates published last week of import volumes in September show no signs of influence of the financial crisis. Imports in September 2008 are up 51.7 percent over September of last year, to $21.4 billion from beyond the CIS and Baltic states. Importers expect the financial crisis to affect them in the mid-term, rather than in the short-term. Imports for the first nine months of 2008 were up 49.3 percent year-on-year, that is, $172.3 billion.
Contracts for next year’s deliveries will be made in November, and their terms may be different. “Short-term contracts are made on credit,” commented Tatyana Kruglova, general director of the Targo Group. “Credit is taken out, the goods are bought, imported to Russia, sold and the credit returned. But that’s not happening now.” The length of a trade credit is now 45-90 days.
Now is the high season, and importers have not having trouble receiving credit. “Credits were discussed before the crisis began,” noted public relations director of the Association of Trading Companies and Goods Producers of Electronic Houseware and Computer Equipment Anton Guskov. Credit will remain available as long as demand is high. Imports of equipment to companies may be the hardest hit when cutbacks come.
Retailers are also moving imports successfully. Press secretary of the Tekhnosila chain Nadezhda Senyuk said that “Growth is sales volume in October over September will be 7-9 percent, which corresponds with the average monthly growth rate in the last year. For paying suppliers, we use both credit funds and operating funds and, in the crisis, the process of obtaining credit has definitely become harder but that doesn’t reflect on our operations yet.”
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 28, 2008
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