According to the industry minister, Russian efforts to keep up the flow of unauthorized imports have only limited success, as the country attempts to cope with international sanctions that have caused an exodus of foreign companies and occasional shortages since the invasion of Ukraine.
Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said in an interview with the Interfax news service that gray market sales reached nearly $6.5 billion since the government allowed companies in May to bring in goods for the domestic market without the approval of their manufacturers.
It is a rare glimpse into the state of the economy after Russia stopped publishing key statistics, including a detailed breakdown of imports and exports.
Manturov's last assessment of progress in trying to bring in foreign goods exempt from trademark laws was in June, when he estimated that around $2 billion worth of parallel imports arrived in the first month since the program went into effect.
Their value could reach $16 billion by the end of the year, said Manturov, who is responsible for trade and industry. Under that scenario, parallel imports would be equivalent to only about 4% of the goods Russia imported last year.
In response to President Vladimir Putin's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, shipping of foreign goods collapsed under the weight of sanctions from the US and its allies. Russia imported $380 billion of goods in 2021, according to the central bank, which last week predicted that total volumes could fall as much as 31.5% this year.
The government will follow a balanced approach when it comes to deciding what goods to include on the permitted list for parallel import, so as not to hurt local companies, Manturov said.
Russia has been trying to make its economy more independent, but for years it has been trying to promote import substitution of foreign brands. Manturov said last month that the authorities may cancel parallel imports for goods where Russian producers are able to make enough.
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