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New postal limits in Kazakhstan not to affect online purchases?

Business Materials 22 May 2018 12:42 (UTC +04:00)
Gradual reduction of the limit on duty-free import of goods from foreign stores to Kazakhstan will not affect the volume of online purchases. This was stated at the forum on cross-border e-business between China and Kazakhstan in Almaty, Kazinform reported.
New postal limits in Kazakhstan not to affect online purchases?

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22

By Fikret Dolukhanov - Trend:

Gradual reduction of the limit on duty-free import of goods from foreign stores to Kazakhstan will not affect the volume of online purchases. This was stated at the forum on cross-border e-business between China and Kazakhstan in Almaty, Kazinform reported.

The concept of gradual reduction of limits, adopted because of Kazakhstan's membership in the EEU, includes goods, the delivery of which to the buyer from abroad is carried out through international mail or by the carrier, including also purchases in foreign online stores.

Now, it is possible to get the parcel weighing 31 pounds in a month without the payment of a fee amounting to 1,000 euros. In 2019, it is planned to reduce the limit to 500 euros, 31 kilograms, and in 2020, the limit will be 200 euros and 31 kilograms, but without limitation on the time and number of imports. For everything that will exceed these limits, it will be necessary to pay a fee.

"Now 97 percent of the goods purchased through online stores, which pass through our postal office, cost less than 200 euros, so the new standards will not affect the volume of online purchases," Executive Director for e-commerce of "Kazpost" JSC Company Askarbek Alshanbayev said.

He added that 75 percent of people in Kazakhstan use internet, but only 11 percent make purchases online.

"The share of e–commerce in total retail sales is 2.6 percent, in China this figure is 14 percent. Every year, Kazakhstan buys through online stores goods worth of about half a million dollars, and 50 percent of those goods are phones and electronic devices. According to our data, the volume of cross-border parcels increased by 57 percent in 2017 and amounted to 11.6 million parcels. In 2018, we plan to grow to 20 million parcels. Some 47 percent of parcels are coming from China, and it is followed by Singapore, Hong Kong, but these same countries deliver Chinese packages," said Alshanbayev.

He went on to add that today the declaring of parcels is done in a simplified way, and it takes less than 24 hours and does not require payment of fees from the recipient, the cost of delivery is 180 tenge per piece in Kazakhstan.

Alshanbayev said that more than 95 percent of all goods purchased abroad, have passed through the "Kazpost" postal office.

Meanwhile, President of the Association of Kazakhstan Internet Business and Mobile Commerce Konstantin Gorozhankin is sure that the reduction of the limit will not affect consumers, but also will not simplify the life of Kazakhstan's business sector.

"Kazakhstan spends about $12-15 million on AliExpress per month. This is the largest online store in the country's market. Officially, the trade turnover with China is $4 billion a year, but it does not take into account online trading," Konstantin Gorozhankin explained.

Among the difficulties hindering the development of domestic online trade, Gorozhankin mentioned the low level of urbanization (slightly more than 50 percent) and small density of population.

Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov

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