Ukraine will be unable to avoid increasing freight tariffs as its transport system is targeted by constant Russian attacks, a deputy economy minister was quoted as saying on Monday of measures strongly opposed by the industrial and farming sectors.

Multiple industry associations have said that state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia’s plans to increase freight tariffs by 27% from January 1 would make many businesses unprofitable.

Ukrzaliznytsia CEO Oleksandr Pertsovskyi told Reuters in September that the company had prepared a recovery plan that included higher freight tariffs to help to control debt in the face of Russian attacks and falling cargo deliveries.

“It’s impossible to say that there will never be indexation (of freight tariffs),” the Agroportal online research data site quoted Taras Vysotskiy as saying.

“It’s definitely inevitable. The only question is how to do it in the most consensual way possible,” the deputy economy minister added.

Ukraine is a major grower and exporter of grain and oilseeds that are largely transported through Black Sea ports where agricultural products are delivered by rail.

“For farmers, the increase in Ukrzaliznytsia’s tariffs is effectively a kind of additional tax,” said Mykhailo Sokolov, deputy head of Ukrainian farmers’ union UAC.
Source: Reuters