EBA called for a review of UZ tariff distances to the ports of Chornomorsk and Odesa

The Association emphasized that the tariff distances for these directions do not correspond to the shortest transportation distance.

This was reported by the European Business Association (EBA).

We are talking about the tariff distances between transit points in the direction of the ports of Chornomorsk and Odesa Port. In particular, the Association calls on Ukrzaliznytsia to focus on the shortest routes when pricing railway transportation.

The EBA emphasized that after the introduction of new tariff distances to the Chornomorska terminals in January of this year, the cost of transportation has increased significantly – to 2-4.5 US dollars per ton.

Previously, the Association has already called for this decision to be canceled. At the same time, in April, changes were made to the tariff distance also in the direction of the Odesa Port station.

“The tariff distances for these directions do not correspond to the shortest transportation distance, which entails an increase in the costs of shippers. The use of longer routes leads to an unjustified increase in transportation costs, creates serious pressure on exporters and reduces the competitiveness of Ukrainian products on international markets,” the Association noted.

EBA experts believe that such a practice may have negative consequences not only for business, but in the long term for Ukrzaliznytsia as well.

“The increase in transportation costs will force customers to switch to alternative modes of transport, which will potentially lead to a decrease in transportation volumes and, accordingly, railway revenues,” the Association emphasized.

In contrast, the use of the shortest routes when calculating tariffs will allow balancing the load on the network, reducing the risks of overloading individual sections and increasing the overall efficiency and predictability of the system.

In particular, work is currently underway on a new draft law that will regulate the functioning of the railway transport market. Business is convinced that it should provide for incentives for transportation along the shortest routes.

“It is also necessary to provide mechanisms that prevent unproductive use of infrastructure capacity and operational redistribution of unused capacities. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account Ukraine’s European integration movement. In a single European railway space, the pricing of infrastructure services should be based on the principles of transparency, economic feasibility and non-discriminatory access, taking into account the actual distance traveled,” the statement says.

In view of this, the EBA considers it necessary to review the approaches to determining the tariff distance and cancel the introduced changes between transit points in the direction of the sea commercial port “Chornomorsk” and “Odesa Port” in order to ensure equal traffic conditions for all ports.

As previously reported by USM, the European Business Association recently appealed to the Ukrainian government with a demand to resume the operation of the Mykolaiv sea port as soon as possible.