The farms of the “Rostock Holding” group of companies continue to work under martial law, but the stability and predictability of work are significantly affected by logistics difficulties that arose after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, said the general director of the holding, Dmytro Kupavtsev.
Due to the blockade of sea ports, the company exports grain by rail to Poland. Since the beginning of the war, it was possible to ship about 3,000 tons of products, although under normal conditions, the enterprises of the group shipped about 10,000 tons every month.
Such restrictions are due to a number of reasons, Kupavtsev notes. In particular, due to high demand from other farmers, the company constantly faces a shortage of empty wagons. And long queues of rolling stock awaiting passage at the western border of Ukraine increase the delivery time. According to the general director of the group, it took about a month to transport a batch of 3,000 tons of grain.
Recently, difficulties have also started to arise with the approval of transportation plans both on the part of “Ukrzaliznzi” and on the part of the Polish railway operator. As of July 8, the company still does not have railroad-approved plans for July, so it cannot begin booking cars and preparing cargo.
“Everything is happening very slowly. Now there is a risk of disrupting the shipment for July. Usually, plans are confirmed in advance, and we understand that we have to load a certain amount of grain for July, we order wagons for this,” said Kupavtsev.
According to him, additional difficulties arose after the decision of “Ukrzaliznytsia” to increase the cost of freight transportation by 70% from July 1. Now, transportation of one ton of grain for the company in the direction of Poland will cost from $70 to $100 depending on the type of rolling stock, while previously the tariff was $40. This route is in fact no alternative for the company, as transportation to Romania or Moldova is even more expensive and economically impractical in the conditions of a decrease in the price of grain on the world markets, the head of the company noted.