TRADE RECOVERING IN KAZAKHSTAN

Apprehensive of the second crisis wave in Kazakhstan due to potential drop in demand in the FMCG sector, I decided to review the statistics on commercial activities in Kazakhstan. The statistics on retail turnover from 2008 through the summer of 2010 shows that the crisis, indeed, reduced the trade volume. The year 2009 was the most difficult one for commercial chains. However, since 2010, turnover volumes have been on the rise. In June 2010, trade volume in Kazakhstan exceeded the June 2009 level by 17%. The positive trend has been observed during all 6 months of 2010.

It should also be noted that positive dynamics are observed mostly because of sales growth in the food segment, whereas a slight drop of trade volumes is observed in the non-food segment (around 3-5%). Still, food products make up about 36% in the total structure of retail turnover in Kazakhstan.

Leaders in trade volumes in the food segment include:

Meat, including poultry meat and meat products (sales volume in 2009 = about 131 billion tenge)

Various drinks, including alcoholic drinks(162 billion tenge)

Dairy products and eggs (97 billion tenge)

Bread and confectionary made from flour (74 billion tenge)

Leaders in trade volumes in the non-food segment include:

Clothes and textile goods (about 186 billion tenge)

Building materials (76 billion tenge)

Computers and software (74 billion tenge)

electrical household appliances (about 70 billion tenge)

On the whole, the Kazakhstanis’ purchase behaviour recovers from the crisis shock. People see that economy is not going down but rather shows signs of stability. In such conditions, purchase behaviour becomes softer. If positive trends in Kazakhstan’s economy remain, trade volumes in the non-food sector will, too, recover by 2010 or early 2011.