Cost of goods delivery to Ukraine up 4 times over past 2 years - businessman

MOSCOW. March 13 (Interfax) - The transportation costs involved in importing goods to Ukraine have grown four times since February 2022, and transport delays at the border currently average 20 days, Ukrainian media quoted Dmitry Derevitsky, board director of the national marketplace Allo, as saying.

Speaking at a roundtable organized by Deloitte in Kiev on Wednesday, Derevitsky said that, while a truck from Warsaw to Lvov cost about 1,300 euros before the crisis, then this cost grew to 2,200-2,500 euros in 2022. "Now freight costs about 4,800 euros, and it fluctuates every day about 300 euros this or that way," he said.

Having explored options alternative to the Polish route, Allo concluded that they are not optimal, Derevitsky said. Amid the Polish border blockade, the company redirected its trucks to Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania, but those checkpoints were incapable of quickly handling the growing truck traffic, he said. Trucks have to wait from three to six days to cross into Ukraine from Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia, and considering that queuing to leave Ukraine now takes about 14 days, the total waiting time on the border reaches about 20 days, he said.

"The cost of funds in Ukraine is very high. Just imagine what business can pay for this lengthy downtime," Derevitsky said. He urged business associations to lobby at least for reducing transport downtime on the Ukrainian side of the border.

The Allo company was set up in 1998. It currently includes showrooms operating under the Allo Max and Allo brands, Mi stores, and retail outlets under the brands of telecom operators.

According to the Opendatabot website, Allo's shareholders are Dniproinvest 2016 (95.19%), Dmitry Derevitsky (3.6%), and Maxim Raskin (1.21%). Derevitsky is indicated as the ultimate beneficial owner.