“UNIANEuropean Business Association addressed an official letter to Prime Minister Denys Shmygal with a request to prevent the increase of tariffs for rail freight transportation, as this will create an additional…”, — write: www.unian.ua
UNIANThe European Business Association addressed an official letter to Prime Minister Denys Shmygal with a request to prevent the increase of tariffs for rail freight transportation, as this would create an additional financial burden for business and reduce the competitiveness of rail logistics. This is stated in the message of EVA.It was reported there that the Supervisory Board of Ukrzaliznytsia approved the indexation of railway tariffs for freight transportation by 37%. Although before that, the company immediately increased tariffs by 70%, as a result of which the cost of transporting coal, ore and limestone increased by 140%, metal – by 70%, and grain – by 65%.
“Companies that are members of the Logistics Committee of the Association are concerned about the consequences of the increase in tariffs for business. The high cost of logistics remains one of the restraining factors for exports. As a result of Russian military aggression, logistics costs in certain industries have increased to 40% of the cost of production. Together with the difficult situation in energy and shortage of personnel, the increase in the tariff for UZ cargo significantly increases the costs of Ukrainian business and impairs the competitiveness of Ukrainian goods on international markets,” the Association said.
EVA also emphasized that even the current tariffs exceed the capabilities of market participants, due to which enterprises are already forced to reduce production and switch to road transportation. This leads to the destruction of roads and an increase in billions of expenses from the budget for their repair.
“Due to the loss of competitiveness of railway logistics, Ukrzaliznytsia is losing revenues. According to the company’s publicly available financial statements, in 9 months of 2024, the company made a profit of UAH 1.6 billion, while in the same period of 2023, the profit was UAH 8.2 billion. At the same time The carrier’s management is already predicting losses of up to UAH 2.5 billion by the end of 2024. According to the business, the situation with the financial indicators of Ukrzaliznytsia demonstrates the need for an urgent review of its spending policy”, – emphasized in EVA.
The Association emphasized that optimizing costs, increasing operational efficiency and attracting customers to the railway through a competitive tariff policy can significantly improve its financial condition.
“Instead of raising tariffs, which will increase the financial pressure on business and lead to a reduction in transportation volumes, it is important to focus on supporting exports. Preventing the growth of logistics costs will allow to keep cargo on the railways and preserve foreign currency revenues for the budget and contribute to economic stability. In view of this, the European The Business Association appealed to the Prime Minister to prevent tariff increases, taking into account the situation in real life sector and on the export markets. Instead, the Association asks the relevant ministries and Ukrzaliznytsia to take measures to optimize costs and increase the operational efficiency of the company. This will contribute to maintaining the competitiveness of Ukrainian goods, increasing the attractiveness of railway transportation and ensuring the sustainable development of both business and transport infrastructure.” summarized in EVA.