Chinese-made Phones Dominate The Russian Market, After Samsung And Apple Stop Sales

Russian-made cell phones, now widely circulated in Russia. (photo: doc. pixabay)

JAKARTA - The market share of Chinese-made mobile phones in the Russian smartphone market jumped significantly last May. This comes as mobile phone makers such as Apple and Samsung have stopped selling new products in Russia and Western sanctions are weighing on the Russian economy.

Chinese mobile phone makers Xiaomi, Realme and Honor now accounted for 42 percent of smartphone sales in Russia in May 2022. Reuters received this data from mobile network MTS. That number also rose 28% during the same month last year.

South Korean Samsung lost its position as the market leader in Russia, where only 14% of devices were sold compared to 28% last year. Meanwhile, Apple's share fell to 9% from the previous 12%.

"Overall smartphone sales in Russia fell 26% year-on-year," said MTS, as Western sanctions and supply chain disruptions have hit the Russian consumer economy hard.

Apple and Samsung stopped selling new products in Russia after Moscow sent troops to Ukraine in late February, but cell phone retailers in Russia can use existing stock to continue selling their products. But this will not last long after the remaining stock is sold out.

To address the shortage of mobile phones in the country, the Kremlin has also moved to allow Russian companies to ship some products, including smartphones, without the licensee's permission in a so-called "parallel import" scheme.