Kazakhstan practically blocked the railway supply of Russian grain to the countries of Central Asia and China. This was stated by the Vice President of the Russian Grain Union (RZS) Alexander Korbut, the Russian media write.
The reason for the impossibility of supply was the transit tariffs of “Kazakhstani railways”, because of which grain transportation became “economically inappropriate,” said Alexander Korbut.
According to Russian Railways, the cost of transporting tons of grain throughout Kazakhstan for 2 thousand km is about 2.5 thousand rubles. Inside Russia, this costs about 1.3 thousand. In practice, the cost of transportation through Kazakhstan is even higher, it costs carriers of 3,150-3,300 rubles per ton, while a similar Russian route costs 600-630 rubles.
“This is due to the fact that the transit tariff is tied to the course of the Swiss Frank,” the source explains. Because of this, Russian grain does not reach Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and China.
“In fact, for Russia, large -scale deliveries to Central Asia countries are blocked, like transit to China through Kazakhstan. This gives competitive advantages to Kazakhstan and allows it to conduct re -export of Russian grain,” emphasizes Alexander Korbut.
The problem was reported to the Russian State Duma. Russian Railways managers met with deputies of United Russia and asked them to reduce tariffs in Kazakhstan. The press service of Russian Railways said that in September they sent a letter to Kazakhstani Railway asking him to reduce the transit fee. But after that, the situation has not changed.