Polish exports to Kyrgyzstan up 1700% amid Ukraine war as firms evade sanctions on russia

Poland’s exports to Kyrgyzstan have increased more than 18-fold in the wake of russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Central Asian country is seen as a route to reach russia, bypassing sanctions placed on direct exports to Moscow.

In February 2022, the month that russia invaded Ukraine, Poland exported goods worth 10.19 million zloty (€2.33 million at today’s exchange rate) to Kyrgyzstan, official data from Statistics Poland (GUS) show.

By November 2023, the last month for which data are available, the figure had reached 186.9 million zloty (€42.7 million), representing a rise of 1733% over that period.

During that time, Kyrgyzstan, a country of 7 million people, leapt from 119th to 49th place among Poland’s export destinations. The main products from Poland reaching Kyrgyzstan include cars, dishwashers and copy machines.

Kyrgyzstan’s share among Poland’s overall exports remains small at 0.14%. However, its increase from 0.01% in just 22 months has caught the eye of experts, who see this as evidence of businesses circumventing the sanctions imposed on russia for its aggression against Ukraine.

“There’s no way that these goods are meant for domestic consumption in Kyrgyzstan,” said Robin Brooks, chief economist at the Institute of International Finance, commenting on Poland’s figures.

“They’re obviously heading for russia, where they help keep Putin’s war economy running. The EU turns a blind eye,” he added.

Brooks has also highlighted that many other countries are using Kyrgyzstan as a route to evade sanctions on russia, including Germany, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Italy and the United States.

However, he notes that Poland and Germany have been the two largest exporters to Kyrgyzstan since russia’s invasion of Ukraine and that “there is no sign whatsoever that these exports are slowing”.

Poland’s government has been among the most vocal international allies of Ukraine during the war, including calling for tougher sanctions to be imposed on russia. That stance has been maintained by the new government, which took power last month.

However, Poland has also been accused of seeking to exploit gaps in the sanctions, including through continued imports to Poland of russian liquefied petroleum gas and imports of russian oil to the Czech Republic by Polish state energy giant Orlen.

Source: Notes from Poland