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By Trend
Addressing an urgent need to support exports of Ukrainian grain, Poland has been actively unblocking all existing bottlenecks and using its logistics capabilities to maximise transportation of Ukrainian agricultural commodities through European routes and ports. Even though the alternative transport corridors for Ukrainian grain will never absorb the volumes of grain shipped through Ukrainian ports before, they could support exports in the short term and build a reliable and diversified logistics system for the long term.
So far, railway transportation through the territory of Poland and shipments from Polish ports seem to be the most promising and efficient solution, with annual capacity of railway corridors used for transporting Ukrainian grains estimated at around 15 million tons, and spare handling capacities of Polish ports estimated at around 3.8 million tons (based on 2021 data). Road transportation is considered as a supplementary to rail and maritime transport due to its lower efficiency. Coupled with transport capabilities of Romania (estimated at 1 million tons/month) and Slovakia (estimated at 0.5 million tons/month), the Polish transit routes should meet monthly export needs of Ukraine estimated at around 3 million tons.
On 23 April 2022 the prime ministers of Poland and Ukraine signed the Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the railway sector. The MoU envisages establishment of a logistic joint venture which will significantly boost rail transport of Ukrainian exports both to the EU and the global markets via Europe. Polish and Ukrainian railway companies (PKP S.A. and Ukrzaliznytsia) are in the final stage of talks on establishment of the joint company. Poland and Ukraine already reached additional bilateral agreements concerning the capacity of Polish seaports. On 16 May 2022, Ministers of Agriculture of Poland and Ukraine signed a memorandum of cooperation on improving the logistics of agricultural exports from Ukraine through Poland. On 14 June 2022, the transit of Ukrainian grains through Poland was further discussed between ministers of infrastructure and agriculture of Poland and Ukraine.
Ukraine-Poland border crossings for cargo
Total capacity of the railway border crossings between UA and PL allows to export approximately 50 thousand tons daily, of which only 20 thousand is currently being utilized. Ukrainian exports of commodities via rail are carried out through border checkpoints in:
Additionally, food commodities can enter the European Union by trucks through the following road border crossings points:
To facilitate faster clearance of grain shipments entering the EU from Ukraine by trucks, an additional checkpoint has been established at the border crossing in Korczowa. Based on an agreement between relevant Polish and Ukrainian authorities, additional 6 gates for cargo clearance have been opened (bringing the total to 11 gates), which should double the capacity of freight clearance. Additionally, the border crossing in Dorohusk-Jagodzin has been dedicated for freight traffic only and passenger traffic will be redirected to the crossings in Zosin and Do?hobyczów.
The total capacity of Polish ports to handle grain shipments are estimated at around 12-13 million tons annually. Based on 2021 data, the spare capacities to handle Ukrainian grain is estimated at around 3.8 million tons. Further increase of capacity would require additional investments. Poland has four major ports that can handle transport of exported Ukrainian commodities: Gdynia, Gda?sk, Szczecin and ?winouj?cie. In order to use Polish ports for exporting Ukrainians grains, the commodity must be first delivered to the ports (either by rail or by trucks) and contracts should be signed between ports and Ukrainian exporters or companies responsible for shipping the grains from Ukraine.
The bottlenecks
The main obstacles to overcome in the exports of Ukrainian grains through Poland are red tape, technical infrastructure, and communication and information flow. While most problems, including border controls and agri-food inspections have been resolved smoothly, the infrastructural challenges remain.
Measures taken to facilitate faster border controls:
The remaining technical infrastructural challenges include:
Conclusion
Polish transport routes offer the best alternative to maritime transport to support Ukraine in transporting its grains to their final buyers. We stand ready to build a reliable and sustainable transport corridor for Ukrainian food commodities and we are on track to achieve this goal, yet substantial external financial support is needed to fully utilize the existing mid-term and long-term potential.