Rail operators have noted a sharp increase in coke deliveries from Russia to Ukraine in August 2014, linking it to the escalation of the political situations in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine, the Interfax news agency reports.
"Deliveries of Russian coke to this destination has increased by 2.5-fold in 2014, with the largest increase occurring in August (a 6.2-fold increase compared with July). The increase in coke exports to Ukraine is attributable to the fact that production of coke by Ukrainian byproduct coke enterprises could be significantly reduced because of the unstable political situation in the country," said Igor Lebed, an expert at the information analysis center of the Council of Rail Operators, which unites major and medium-sized owners of railway rolling stock.
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He also noted that the trend in deliveries of Ukrainian coal to Russia also changed in August in connection with this – the delivery volume totaled only 3,700 tons, which is 10 or more times less than the volume in August 2013, while deliveries in the entire 2014 have increased by about 6%, compared with 2013, despite the fighting in the coal-mining regions. "This suggests that the Ukrainian coal mining industry is most likely partially shut down because of the fighting in the Donbass," said the analyst.
In general, according to the information analysis center of the Council of Rail Operators, export of goods from Russia to Ukraine by rail fell by 2.1% to 12.6 million tons in the period of January-August 2014. The biggest reductions were in transportation of building materials (down by 17% compared with January-August 2013), ferrous metals (down by 43%), and crude oil (down by 8%).
Imports of goods from Ukraine to Russia by rail reduced more significantly: by 15.4% to 21.4 million tons in the period of January-August 2014, compared with the corresponding period of 2013. "Such a significant reduction is due mainly to a reduction in shipments of minerals and building materials: import of such goods from Ukraine into Russia reduced by 13.3% to 17.4 million tons in the period of January-August 2014, compared with the corresponding period of 2013. The biggest reductions were in deliveries of gravel (11.3%), which had steadily increased in the preceding years to account for 70% of total Ukrainian exports to Russia," said the expert.
According to him, this is partly attributable to the completion of Olympics projects in Russia, as a result of which demand for construction materials has fallen. In addition, the Russian Railways raised its tariffs for transportation of goods from Ukraine to a number of stations on the Moscow Railway by 13.4% in late August because of infrastructure overload. At the same time, according to experts, more than 80% of Ukrainian gravel deliveries to Russia go specifically to the Moscow region.
According to experts, transportation of ferrous metal from Ukraine to Russia dropped significantly in the period of January-August 2014 (by 34% compared with the same period of 2013). Ukrainian ore deliveries by rail also reduced by 10%.
