Carriers blocking the border with Ukraine in Poland used to work in Russia: Ukrainian business suffers heavy losses

In Poland, one of the carrier associations has organized a strike and is blocking checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Polish border. The protesters are truck drivers who worked in the Belarusian and Russian markets. They were not supported by other associations, and the Polish government twice asked them to stop the action.

According to Vladislav Suvorov, Deputy Head of the State Customs Service of Ukraine, in October, the service let 30% more vehicles into Ukraine than left the border. In Poland, this imbalance is 60%: 35 thousand vehicles left Ukraine, while almost 57 thousand entered. "This signals the potential for vehicles leaving Ukraine," Vladislav Suvorov said during a meeting organized by the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, the organization's press service reports.

The Ukrainian government has not yet received any official appeals from the Polish strikers, and all the demands are known only from the media. Deputy Director General of the FEU Yulia Goncharova noted that all members of the Federation who took part in the special survey confirmed the existence of problems with exports due to long queues at the border. For 40% of respondents, the average delay of cargoes is 5-10 days, for 53% - 10-15 days, the rest reported either a quick border crossing (up to 5 days) or a delay of more than 15 days.

"Violation of contracts on delivery terms and higher costs are the consequences now," says Dmytro Oliynyk, Chairman of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine and co-owner of Kostopil Glassworks. "A 2.5-fold increase in logistics costs adds an additional 7-8% to the cost of production. It is important that November and December are the time for signing contracts for the next year.

Even today, foreign consumers have doubts and tell Ukrainian producers: "We honor, respect and appreciate your quality, and we are satisfied with the price. But given the risks that we see shaping our position today, the minimum program is that we will reduce the volume. That is, we will substitute with Polish suppliers, for example," explained Dmytro Oliynyk.

Representatives of other exporting companies also talk about the same development. Customers of the Ukrainian manufacturer of commercial equipment Modern-Expo specify in their contracts a specific date for product delivery. Their customers are located in more than 70 countries, and the company employs 1800 people. The company's 53 trucks are already registered in the electronic queue and are waiting to cross the border. Modern-Expo's head of logistics Vasyl Markevych says that they have been unable to deliver 18 containers to the Middle East for more than a week. "We are already receiving complaints from our dealers and customers. We have received angry letters from Britain, the United Arab Emirates - all the markets where we have been present for several days," says Vasyl Markevych.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, the border between Ukraine and Poland is difficult for trucks from the neighboring country. The reason is the strike of Polish carriers, which began on November 6. After 1 p.m., there was a gradual blocking of truck traffic in the direction of the Yagodyn-Dorokhusk, Krakivets-Korchova, and Rava-Ruska-Krebenne checkpoints.

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