Astrakhan calls on the Aterau business community to return to its market.
The Kazakh-Russian border area is one of the spheres of interstate
ties with highest potential. The length of the border is more than
7600 km, making it the longest in the world. This year turnover of
goods between the states was around $20 billion. However, turnover between
the Aterau and Astrakhan regions reduced by 2.2 times.
Denis Afanasiev, minister for external affairs of the Astrakhan
region, announced at a meeting with the business community that "the
rate of turnover between the two regions showed continuous increase
until mid-2009. During 2008 and the first half of 2009, turnover
amounted to $500 million but later started to slow, a trend which still
continues. Analysing the situation, we have discovered that the Aterau
business community redirected its external economic activity to the
Samara region. We are here to figure out why they left their more
traditional market of Astrakhan," - said Afanasiev.
At the meeting, businessmen explained that the main reason for this
switch is the extremely high price of customs procedures and the fees
of officials. "In my opinion the reason for the slowdown in turnover
is the situation in which purchase of goods at a price of less than
200 000 rubles is not profitable for entrepreneurs. First of all,
customs payments sometimes come to 24 000 rubles. Secondly, the work
of Russian customs officials does not stand up to criticism. They are
probably in cahoots with each other and have the same pricing, as well
as appetites. Five thousand rubles are to be paid to the pay office,
another five thousand has to be given without a receipt. A certificate
costs another five thousand," - was how the director of the "Kuralai"
corporation, Adilbek Bisenev, expressed the claims of the business
community .
Afanasiev explained the changes in Russian customs legislation caused
by the establishment of a Customs Union between Kazakhstan, Russia,
and Belarus. He told entrepreneurs how to declare goods transported
from Russia to Kazakhstan, and added that now Kazakh businessmen can
file customs declarations by themselves. Formerly only Russian
entrepreneurs could do it. They can now use the internet to carry out
customs procedures, avoiding personally meeting with functionaries,
and it will take less than an hour. Today, more than 10% of
declarations are filed this way, though the new legislation only came
into force in December. The changes have also affected the work of
other government institutions involved in customs procedures. "The
Russian authorities assure us that all the conditions are in place for
the participants of interstate economic activities. Customs procedures
are eased and time spent on them reduced. We call on the Aterau
business community to return to our market," - said Afanasief at the
end of the meeting.
Russian-Kazakh cooperation in the Caspian region includes a wide range
of economic links - joint oil and gas exploitation and fisheries. In
the Astrakhan region, local shipbuilders cooperate with Kazakh oilers.
In terms of traders, there is close cooperation in spheres of
agriculture and food industry. Perhaps this was the reason for
Russia's concerns about the switch in the Kazakh business community's
interests. We shouldn't judge them too harshly. The business community
is looking for easier ways to develop by avoiding bureaucratic
obstacles. In this way, the visit of the Astrakhan official could help
overcome artificial barriers and restore Russian-Kazakh links in
Caspian region.
Anvar Raimov. Astana. Special for VK.
