Semiconductor shortage: Russia sources defective chips from China

The global semiconductor shortage is probably hitting Russia particularly hard at the moment. Due to the sanctions imposed by the West in response to Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, the huge country has to rely on the black market. And its quality leaves much to be desired.

No More Semiconductors for Russia

For many months now, the semiconductor shortage has been powerfully shaking up economies around the world. Especially in combination with supply chain problems, which can still be traced back to the Corona pandemic, the effects are severe. We end customers are feeling this primarily in the form of months-long waits for cars, game consoles or household appliances. This could be exacerbated by the Taiwan conflict. If you look to Russia, the whole thing looks different again.

In the course of the Ukraine war, the country’s companies are no longer able to obtain semiconductors through the traditional, legal channels. The only alternative is apparently the black market. A report by theregister.com shows that the models from the illegal market have their downsides. For example, 40 percent are said to be defective. The Ukraine war also has a direct impact on German chip production. For example, an acute gas shortage could result in a three-year halt to semiconductor production.

Semiconductors come from China

But where does Russia get the defective semiconductors from? Here, too, the newspaper provides information, citing an informant in the industry. Thus, the chip technology is said to come from China. It is not new that Russia obtains its semiconductors from China. But especially in comparison to the previous delivery of the semiconductor technology the problem becomes clear. Before the war, for example, just 2 percent of the chips supplied were said to be defective. The increase to 40 percent is immense. Of course, this means a huge effort for the Russian companies. After all, they now had to significantly strengthen quality testing. According to the article, there is no confirmation of the problem from the public side in Russia.

Rather, the Ministry of Industry and Trade says that it knows nothing about the increased number of defects in semiconductors. In one point, however, the ministry agrees with the statements of the insiders interviewed. Prices for electronics in Russia are said to be rising noticeably. But this problem probably does not only affect Russian customers. In the wake of the semiconductor shortage and the energy crisis, some electronics manufacturers in this country will probably also have to call up higher prices in the long term. One well-known example is the PlayStation 5, where Sony raised the MSRP of its game console by 50 euros each to 449.99 euros and 549.99 euros for the disc and digital editions, respectively.

Black market in semiconductor shortage not a new problem

The challenges now facing Russian companies are typical of the black market. After all, it is precisely the nature of illegal distribution channels that it is not possible to take action against the supplier in the event of defective deliveries. However, since Russian electronics manufacturers currently have no other way to obtain the coveted semiconductors, there is no alternative.