31,000% surge in car, ship, toy exports — Europe’s suddenly trading with Central Asia post Russia war

New Delhi: In just two years, from 2021 to 2023, Germany’s exports of cars to the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan surged a staggering 31,000 percent. The export of German cars to Kazakhstan saw a relatively slower, but still eye-wateringly high growth of 1,300 percent over this period. What happened in the intervening period? The Russia-Ukraine war, and the resultant Western trade sanctions on Russia.  

It’s not just cars, and it’s not just Germany. Several European nations have seen their exports to the five Central Asian nations…