The final cost of transporting one ton of grain by rail has doubled or tripled to $80-$120. Farmers also complain about the lack of empty grain carriers, queues at the border and the drop in world prices for grain and oilseeds.
At the same time, producers face significant threats to their operations – farmers are harvesting crops despite Russian shelling and fields mined by the russian army (in the south and east of Ukraine).
All these challenges require an urgent response from the government, together with the UZ, road carriers, river navigation providers and others, the Ukrainian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs said, reports ProAgro Group.
Some positive moment is the restoration of infrastructure on the Danube, as well as the liberation of the Snake Island, which made it possible to launch the first barges with the Ukrainian grain to the ports of the Danube through the mouth of the river quickly. However, it is necessary to understand that it is possible to bring the export of grains to the last year level (5-6 million tons of grain monthly) only after the deblocking of the Black Sea ports.
The Union considers that it is necessary to adjust the existing ways and find new logistic corridors. First of all, the queues at railway crossings over the border must be solved by introducing a clear system of informing exporters of the order and terms of passage of grain carriers. “Ukrzaliznytsia should revise the mechanism of auctions, because there are many complaints about the shortage of railcars.
Business Union has already said that the decision of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine to increase by 70% the rates for cargo transportation by railroads is out of time and will hurt the exporters. On which, in turn, depends the inflow of foreign currency proceeds to the country and replenishment of the budget.
