The Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure has approved a proposal by the Ukrainian Railways joint-stock company (Ukrzaliznytsia) to raise freight rates by 70%.
The CFTS portal reported this, citing the Interfax Ukraine news agency.
The relevant order was signed by Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov on 22 June and registered with the Ministry of Justice on 24 June.
According to the document, the order will come into force at the moment of its official publication.
Unlike the several freight-rate increases that took place last year, the rate of increase (70%) is the same for all the 20 types of freight.
As reported previously, rail freight rates were increased in Ukraine on 17 August last year. In accordance with the relevant order from the Ministry of Infrastructure, the freight rate for out-of-class goods was increased by 25.9%. In addition, the freight rates for goods in the first and second tariff classes were increased by 8% on 17 August.
The next phase of the rate increase for these classes of goods was planned for 1 January 2022: a 20.4% increase for goods in the first tariff class and a 6.5% increase for those in the second tariff class.
Market participants opposed these rate-increase initiatives because they believed that the rate increases would lead to additional costs for all cargo owners.
