By KYIV. Nov 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The share of fulfillment of agreed orders for transportation of grain cargo in October amounted to only 51%, the main reason being the overestimation of orders/plans for shipment of wagons for export by some shippers, Valeriy Tkachev, deputy director of the commercial work department, said following a meeting with industry participants held on November 8.
"Of the agreed 17,700 wagons, only 9,000 wagons were loaded and sent during October… Some shippers were refused approval due to the limited capacity of border crossings and a large number of orders, and those who received such an opportunity do not fulfill the loading plans," Tkachev stated in a Facebook post.
According to him, the percentage of implementation of the agreed plans for foodstuffs (sunflower oil and others) is 50%: the loading of 1,580 wagons was agreed, but 790 were actually loaded.
Tkachev pointed out that the meeting proposed the introduction of material and administrative liability to solve this problem.
According to the first option, the shipper is offered liability for failure to fulfill the agreed plans in the direction of the western crossings in the amount of a three-day rate for the use of a wagon or the average cost of an empty wagon for loading.
Another option involves the impact on companies by administrative measures: cancel part of the agreed plans or reduce the percentage of their approval for the next month, the Ukrzaliznytsia representative explained.
In addition, at the meeting, individual shippers proposed the introduction of long-term planning for the transport of goods towards the western border crossings (one to six months), he added.
Currently, such planning is possible subject to agreement by foreign carriers, but the latter are unwilling to do this today due to the lack of information about their readiness to accept cargo and confirmations from the owners of transshipment terminals on the border with Ukraine, Tkachev said.
