Oct 16, 2023 admin There are no comments

Kazakhstan is one of the countries of the former Soviet Union, which is a little-recognized destination for the import and export of goods from and to Poland and Europe. Is it worth establishing economic cooperation with Kazakhs? What goods are most often imported and exported from Kazakhstan? And how to finally organize their transport?

Kazakhstan - a country of new economic prospects

Kazakhstan is one of the largest countries in the world. It offers a wide range of natural resources, and one of the main industries of the economy is the oil and gas industry. In the era of the war in Ukraine and the resulting economic sanctions imposed on Russia, it is becoming a country seriously taken into account by the European Union countries when it comes to the import of gases and petroleum products. Kazakhstan is also one of the largest producers of flax and grain. 

Kazakhstan has potential and opportunities for economic development. It places particular emphasis not only on the development of the mining and petrochemical industries, but also the agricultural, construction and energy industries, including the renewable energy sector. Along with the development of the industry, they also plan to expand the logistics, transport, energy, heating and housing infrastructure, as well as acquire and implement new technologies. This means that Kazakhstan should become one of the directions requiring attention from Polish entrepreneurs, both in terms of imports and investments. 

In 2022, the value of exports from Poland to Kazakhstan amounted to over 587 million US dollars, which is an increase compared to 2021 by over 57%. From Poland to Kazakhstan, we most often export processors, medicines, apples, machines for receiving, converting and transmitting voice, images or other data, as well as sealing compounds. Kazakhs, on the other hand, most often send to Poland crude oil and its derivatives, bituminous coal, propane, phosphorus and flax seeds. 

Kazakhstan — one of the main players on the New Silk Road

This largest country in Central Asia plans to become the main link connecting Europe, East and South Asia in a relatively short period of time. Kazakhstan's advantage is undoubtedly its location and developed transport infrastructure, which allow for the rapid transit of goods between Europe and China. It is worth emphasizing that Kazakhstan is one of the main hubs on the New Silk Road, ensuring the transport of goods using express freight trains from the Middle Kingdom to EU countries. 

At the same time, Kazakhstan is constantly working to increase the capacity of Kazakh ports, which will be responsible for transporting cargo through the Caspian Sea, which is a natural obstacle to the continuity of international transport along the southern section of the New Silk Road. However, it is worth remembering that the transport carried out by express freight trains along the current route through Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus is still open and this section of the route is the main route for rail transport of cargo from China to Europe. 

How to organize the export and import of goods from and to Kazakhstan?

Kazakhstan, with its potential, is becoming an interesting import and export destination for Polish entrepreneurs. Due to the fact that our countries are separated by over 4 km, the optimal solution is to use rail transport. It is carried out as part of traditional rail freight or the New Silk Road. Transport by train allows both full-container and groupage transport. The global delivery time (including collection of the container from the customer in the case of export and delivery to the customer in the case of import) usually does not exceed 3 weeks. 

What are the benefits of using rail freight to transport cargo to Kazakhstan? Rail transport is undoubtedly fast and cheap compared to truck and air transport. It guarantees high safety of transported loads. The only disadvantage is the need to use the services of an experienced forwarder. Due to the fact that rail transport to Kazakhstan does not have a predetermined timetable (as is the case, for example, with trains to China), organizing such transport on your own is quite difficult - the railway is simply not interested in cooperating with an individual customer. However, using the services of a forwarder provides many benefits to the customer. An experienced forwarding employee has the knowledge, experience and contacts to properly optimize transport both in terms of price and transport time. By ordering comprehensive transport services to and from Kazakhstan, you get rid of not only the problem of transport organization, but also all matters related to the clearance of goods, customs procedures, etc. It is worth emphasizing that in the case of exporting goods to Kazakhstan, the service includes the delivery of cargo to the railway terminal station in this country, from which the recipient of the cargo picks it up in person.