MINSK, 2 June (BelTA) – Logistic companies see no serious barriers standing in the way of export of Belarusian goods, the press service of the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange (BUCE) told BelTA.
Representatives of the largest Belarusian and foreign logistic companies took part in a seminar on export logistics, which the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange organized. Offline and online participants included Beltamozhservice, Belintertrans-Transport and Logistics Center, China Merchants CNH-BLR Commerce and Logistics, Ruzspedition, and about 30 trading firms, which cooperate with the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange.
Participants of the seminar were most interested in opportunities and prospects of shipping Belarusian goods to Asia, primarily to China, taking into account the shortage of containers and the unavailability of the majority of transport corridors. According to representatives of logistic companies, despite certain difficulties due to having to work out new delivery routes there are no serious barriers standing in the way of export of Belarusian goods at present.
Goods are still delivered to Chinese customers primarily by rail along the New Silk Road, however, due to the high demand for containers it is necessary to file shipping requests in advance – about two weeks ahead of the planned shipment on the average. Meanwhile, Chinese logistic companies are interested in loading the trains bound for China as much as possible and are ready to consider any offers of Belarusian exporters, including the shipment of goods sold via exchange trade: sawn timber, rapeseed oil, meat and dairy products.
Turkey and Iran are also promising export destinations. Belarusian goods are shipped to Turkey via the Novorossiysk port. Belarusian goods are shipped to Tehran either by rail or via the Astrakhan port. The routes are in quite a demand among Belarusian companies, which are eager to diversify export deliveries and securing their hold on new markets.
Participants of the seminar believe that the effect of Western sanctions is primarily manifested in long delivery times and higher transportation and logistic costs. Nevertheless, most of the companies engaged in foreign trade have already adapted to new conditions. These difficulties represent a stimulus to improve their performance for some of them. Apart from that, work continues to build alternative routes and new logistic chains in order to cheapen exports for end consumers.
