Over the next 4 years, rail transport will take less than 50% in the transportation of grain
According to experts, without the beginning of changes in the work of Ukrzaliznytsia, less than 50% of all grain traffic will fall on the railway.
Such information was provided by IMF Group.
As consequence, the only options will be to artificially reduce the volume of the harvest, due to the lack of physical ability to transport grain for export.
To date, the demand for transportation by rail is not satisfied by about 20%, which forces agricultural producers to turn to road trucks, which increases the cost of delivery by 11 times.
In 2017, almost 42 million tons of grain were exported, of which only 31.2 million tons were transported to ports by rail (which is 74.6%). The number of grain transported by road was 10.3 million tons. Roads on the territory of Ukraine are not designed for such heavy freight traffic.
According to experts’ forecasts, rail transportation of grain in Ukraine will decrease by half over the next four years. This is due to the agricultural sector of the country shifting towards more economical and faster transportation methods such as road and river transport. This transition may lead to a decrease in transportation costs and increase the efficiency of agricultural enterprises. However, it may also cause problems such as a shortage of railway freight cars and decreased profitability for railway companies. Additionally, this change in the industry may impact the job market and require employee retraining. Experts advise businesses to prepare for these changes and seek new opportunities for business development.