Recent changes in customs regulations have led to significant difficulties in supplies from Kyrgyzstan to Russia. Chyngyz Alkanov, the general director of Alkanov Group and owner of a customs logistics center, shared this information with Logirus here.
One of the main new requirements is the obligation for Kyrgyz suppliers to have a contract with Russian buyers, who act as declarants and VAT payers, he noted.
Previously, the supply process allowed goods to be sent directly to fulfillment centers of marketplaces such as Wildberries. The introduced requirements, without a transition period, have significantly disrupted the supply of winter clothing during the peak season, leading to mass order cancellations and financial difficulties for manufacturers from Kyrgyzstan.
Nevertheless, Chyngyz Alkanov believes that the market will be able to recover. He suggests that adapting to the new conditions will take some time, but by the fall of 2026, logistics chains should stabilize, and freight volumes will increase.
Alkanov also noted that despite the current challenges, Kyrgyzstan continues to attract business due to its geographical location, proximity to China, and lower costs for electricity and labor compared to Kazakhstan and Russia.
For further development of Kyrgyzstan's logistics potential, the expert sees the need for the country to transform from a transit corridor into a center for cargo consolidation. One possible scenario includes re-exporting Chinese goods combined with the supply of local products, such as textiles, for more efficient transportation loading. The presence of warehouses and order pickup points of Russian marketplaces within the republic is viewed as an important element of the existing infrastructure for distributing goods. Chyngyz Alkanov believes that all these factors create interest among international companies in Kyrgyzstan as a logistics hub in Central Asia.
