OREANDA-NEWS  The annual volume of shadow imports of goods to Russia reaches 10-15 billion dollars. This is how the level was assessed in the "Public Consumer Initiative" (OPI), Kommersant reports.

Deliveries under the so-called "cargo schemes" (meaning simplified or bypass logistics chains) amount to about 811.9— 1.23 trillion rubles. As a rule, we are talking about products that Russian entrepreneurs choose on Chinese B2B and B2C platforms - Alibaba, 1688.com , Taobao and Pinduoduo, which deliver goods without intermediaries and issue a package of accompanying documents. Services are paid for in cash, through accounts of individuals or payment systems focused on them.

Shadow shipments can be transported mainly by trucks directly from China, through Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, or through Uzbekistan and partly through Armenia. The goods are processed as "personal parcels" or "non-commercial shipments".

According to Dmitry Khrushchalev, Deputy General Director for Development of the Business Lines Group, the gray supply chain is on average 20-30 percent cheaper. Yulia Shlenskaya, President of the customs and logistics broker KW, adds that such deliveries are carried out faster, which is important during the New Year season.

In September 2025, imports of clothing and accessories from China to Russia fell by more than a quarter. In the first month of autumn, China supplied $447.5 million worth of clothing and accessories to Russia — shipments fell by 27 percent month—on-month and by 9 percent compared to last year. Import volumes decreased by 4 percent year-on-year from January to September.