The Belarusian government has decided to raise rail freight fees by an average of eight per cent. The burden of such a raise will primarily fall on the shoulders of domestic companies and those transporting to and from other Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states.
As per a decision of Belarus’ Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade, rail freight fees in the country are now eight per cent higher on average. The Ministry says that the increase concerns “a change in tariffs for the transport of goods via rail.”
The ministry mentions that the final cost of transportation depends on various factors, such as cargo type, the owner of the rolling stock and distance travelled. As such, the eight per cent increase is not universally applicable to all freight trips through Belarus. Moreover, Belarusian Railways may independently introduce discounts, says the ministry.
Financial burden
In an earlier version of this article, it was mentioned that the raising of fees may have to do with increased traffic between China and Europe. By raising fees, Belarus was said to pursue higher revenues as an important transit country. Further inquiry indicates that the price increase in question does not have an effect on China-Europe traffic.
The current price increase affects domestic Belarusian companies primarily. For them, the import tariffs for raw materials and export tariffs for finished products will rise. By extension, operators transporting to and from other EAEU member states will also face increased fees by an average of eight per cent. This is because rail freight traffic among EAEU states is subject to domestic fees.
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