Associations of Ukrainian manufacturers call on the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine to impose a moratorium on raising tariffs for rail freight traffic for the period of martial law and six months after its termination.
“There was no real discussion between shippers and the carrier about a compromise solution to increase tariffs – we were simply presented with a fact. When Ukrzaliznytsia announced the discussion of raising tariffs by 70%, the order to increase tariffs had already been signed. We had specific proposals: to introduce a moratorium for the period of martial law and six months after it on the increase in tariffs within the borders of Ukraine, and all related services,” Liudmyla Kripka, the Executive Director of the Ukrcement Association, said at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Thursday.
According to her, Ukrzaliznytsia did not take into account the transportation of raw materials, coal, fillers in the infrastructure component of transportation, and did not include the tariff distance, which is why the cost of the final product will increase more significantly than in the carrier’s forecast.
“The impact on the cost of the final product will be much higher than presented by Ukrzaliznytsia. On the example of cement: for us, the main raw material is limestone, and there the highest figure is 55%. Other industries fell into the values of 0-13%,” she said.
In addition, from August 1, the calculation for the use of wagons will be changed to the actual one instead of the planned one, which will also increase the costs of shippers due to delays in border crossings, the expert noted.
Oleh Misiuk, a representative of the Ukrainian Lime Industry Association, pointed out that the decision to raise tariffs would have a significant impact on the lime market, which is already undergoing a significant decline in production volumes.
“Before the war, the cost of delivery from the west of Ukraine to Dnipro was UAH 400 per tonne, now it is UAH 650. With a producer price of up to UAH 300/tonne, the consumer overpays another UAH 200-250 from July 1. In general, lime production has fallen from the pre-war 1.2 million tonnes per month to 350,000 tonnes in May-June. The decision of Ukrzaliznytsia to increase tariffs will hit the market even harder, we expect a fall by another 30-40%,” he said.
MISIUK, MORATORIUM, RAIL FREIGHT, TARIFF, UKRAINIAN PRODUCERS ASSOCIATIONS, UKRCEMENT, UKRZALIZNYTSIA, КРИПКА
