Deliveries to Ukraine by Poland decrease by $22.5 mln per day due to border blockade - expert

MOSCOW. Nov 29 (Interfax) - The ongoing blockade of the Ukrainian border by Polish haulers has reduced deliveries by Poland of Polish and other goods to Ukraine by around $22.5 million a day, Ukrainian media said, citing a estimate given by Sergei Svistil, chairman of the board of the ZED Association of Exporters and Importers, during an online presentation of a report assessing businesses' potential losses due to the border blockade.

The presentation was organized by the American Chamber of Commerce.

Polish goods themselves account for $13.4 million per day in the overall amount of deliveries, Svistil said. Meanwhile, Ukrainian imports to Poland have dropped by $6.9 million per day.

Ukrainian Deputy Restoration Minister Sergei Derkach, in turn, pledged to relay these figures to the Polish side. Hopefully, it will help speed up the process of unblocking the border, he said.

As reported, because of the continuing protest organized by Polish carriers at the Yagodin-Dorohusk, Krakovets-Korczowa and Rava Russkaya-Hrebenne checkpoints on November 6, the lines outside the blocked border crossing points on the Ukrainian-Polish border from the Polish side stretched out to 40 kilometers. According to the Ukrainian Restoration Ministry, 20,000 vehicles have been blocked on the Ukrainian-Polish border, and the truck traffic via these crossings has dropped by 20%-25%. Polish truckers began blocking a fourth crossing point, Shegini-Medyka, on the Ukraine-Poland border on Thursday.

The organizers of the protest, demanding the reinstatement of transport permits for Ukrainian truckers, said that, in line with the local authorities' official permission, the border blockade would continue until January 3, 2024, and at certain border crossings until February.