Transportation costs for importing goods have quadrupled compared to pre-war levels, and transport delays at the border average 20 days, said Dmytro Derevytskyi, chairman of the board of directors of the national marketplace network Allo Dmytro Derevytskyi, chairman of the board of directors of the national market chain Allo.
“In the pre-war period, a truck from Warsaw to Lviv cost about EUR1.3 thousand, then in 2022 – EUR2-2.5 thousand. Now the freight is about EUR4.8 thousand and changes daily, somewhere plus or minus EUR300,” he explained at a discussion organized by Deloitte in Kyiv on Wednesday.
He also noted that the search for alternative options (to the Polish border) is not optimal. According to him, the company has redirected its trucks to Slovakia, Hungary and Romania amid the blockade of the Polish border, but the checkpoints there do not have the capacity to quickly process the increased flow of freight traffic. Waiting times at the border from Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia range from 3 to 6 days, and taking into account the queue at the Ukrainian border for exit (14 days), trucks stand in line for about 20 days.
“The cost of funds in Ukraine is very high. Imagine which business will be able to pay for this downtime for such a long time,” Derevytsky said and called on business associations to lobby for at least a reduction in transport downtime on the Ukrainian border.
Allo LLC was established in 1998. The group’s network includes showrooms under the Allo Mah and Allo brands, Mi stores and outlets under the brands of telecom operators.
According to the Opendatabot resource, the participants of Allo LLC are PE Dniproinvest 2016 (95.19%), Dmytro Derevytskyi (3.6%), and Maksym Raskin (1.21%). Derevytskyi is listed as the ultimate beneficiary.
Ukrposhta from July 1 raises the cost of standard delivery within Ukraine by an average of 14% and within the region by 13%, the company’s press service said on Thursday.
“The tariff revision is caused, first of all, by an increase in logistics costs for delivery. However, even after the revision of the cost, Ukrposhta’s tariffs remain lower compared to competitors,” the company said.
According to the national postal operator, sending a parcel weighing up to 1 kg within Ukraine, which used to cost UAH 31, will cost UAH 35 after viewing the tariffs, and delivery of a parcel weighing up to 15 kg will cost UAH 75, compared to UAH 65 before viewing the tariffs.
The express delivery service will rise in price for shipment within the region by an average of 14%, within Ukraine – by 16%. If earlier a parcel up to 1 kg across Ukraine cost UAH 39, then from July 1 it will cost UAH 45.
The cost of sending documents will increase by 14%. The cost of international shipments will remain the same.
The relevant decision to revise tariffs was approved by the National Commission for Communications Regulation back in November 2021.
The Meest international postal and logistics group with Ukrainian roots, through its subsidiary Meest China, has resumed the purchase and delivery of goods from China to Ukraine.
According to the company’s announcement on Wednesday, delivery to Ukraine of both postal items and commercial cargo is available.
Earlier, Meest resumed international delivery of parcels to the countries of the European Union: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
At the same time, the company said on its website that due to the war on the territory of Ukraine [which Russia unleashed with its invasion on February 24] and the introduction of martial law in the country, the delivery time for international shipments to European countries may be extended and will depend on further development situations.
Ukrposhta resumed delivery from the largest marketplaces and online stores: OLX, prom.ua, Rozetka, eva.ua, as well as online clothing stores, in particular, children’s clothing, consumer goods, children’s toys, goods for the home, etc., the company’s press service said on Friday.
“Now many Ukrainians are faced with the fact that it has become a problem to buy ordinary things in a store: due to logistical restrictions, when the store simply cannot deliver products on time, or due to a sharply growing demand due to internal migration, some groups of goods have temporary shortage. Ordering goods on the marketplace can partially solve the problem. Therefore, we are pleased to announce that Ukrposhta has resumed the delivery of online orders. Gradually, we will resume delivery from all sites that we worked with before the war, because we understand how important it is for our customers. In addition, the resumption of delivery from marketplaces will allow Ukrainian entrepreneurs to return to work, earn money and strengthen the economy,” Ukrposhta Deputy Director General for Business Development Olena Stepina was quoted as saying.
It is said that as of March 11, some 4,783 branches of Ukrposhta are operating. In addition, mobile departments leave for routes where it is safe.
Capacity utilization of Ukraine’s transit corridor on Friday remains at the same high level, in line with the long-term contract volumes of 40 billion cubic meters per year or 109 million cubic meters per day.
European buyers have increased nominations for Gazprom’s gas after prices soared due to the imposition of sanctions on Russia. Gas prices at the TTF hub were $1,383 per thousand cubic meters on Friday morning.
“Gazprom is supplying Russian gas for transit via Ukraine as scheduled in accordance with the requests of European consumers – 109.5 mcm on March 11,” the company’s official spokesperson Sergey Kupriyanov told reporters.
As confirmed by data from the Ukrainian GTS Operator, the nomination for March 11 is 109.4 mcm, while that for March 10 was also 109.4 mcm.
Nova Poshta Global, a member of the Nova Poshta group of companies, has begun delivering goods from online stores in Spain and France, you can now order them through the NP Shopping website, the company’s press service said.
“Our customers got direct access to some of the best products in terms of quality and range. Spain is a country of shopping for your favorite brands, where you can buy products from the first collections much cheaper than ours. And in French online stores it’s easy to find exclusive goods and please yourself what you can’t find in our stores, or buy a third cheaper than in Ukraine. Our goal is for everyone to be able to buy goods around the world as easily and with pleasure as in Ukrainian stores,” Olha Volodina, the deputy director for products development and marketing of Nova Poshta Global, said.
The company notes that the cost of delivery of the order depends on the weight of the package: 0-1 kg – from $5, 1-5 kg – from $4; 5-30 kg – from $3.5.
Currently, online stores from nine countries are already available for ordering through the NP Shopping website: the United States, Italy, Turkey, China, UK, Germany, Poland, France and Spain.
Nova Poshta Global has been providing international express delivery services since 2015. In 2021, the company delivered over 9.3 million international parcels, up 32% from 2020 volumes.