In Ukraine, the cost of road grain transportation has increased. Long-haul routes saw the biggest price hikes, reaching 15%. Carriers are factoring in rising diesel prices, driver shortages, and lengthy truck downtime at borders into their rates.

This is evidenced by data from the analytical platform "Ukrvantage AGRO", published on October 19, and cited by Latifundist.com on October 22.

The price increase has covered all main categories of road routes. According to analysts, on short distances up to 100 km, rates increased by approximately 10%, and on routes of 101-600 km, by 3-7%. The strongest growth, up to 15%, was recorded on longer distances.

One of the main reasons were fuel costs. According to Ukrvantage AGRO calculations, over the previous week average diesel prices increased in all regions of Ukraine by 0.6-2.3%. In most regions, they approached 99 UAH per liter.

Additional pressure on the market is created by a shortage of available grain trucks and drivers. The need for transport increased against the backdrop of the active shipment of the new crop, while the number of available trucks remains limited.

Border queues reduce transport availability

The situation is complicated by delays of freight transport at the western border. According to Latifundist.com, in some directions waiting to cross the border reaches eight days.

The largest accumulations of trucks were recorded at checkpoints with Poland. In particular, at the "Yahodyn-Dorohusk" crossing, 1,363 loaded and 2,098 empty trucks were in queue, and at "Krakovets-Korchova", 1,562.

At the Ukrainian-Romanian crossing "Porubne-Siret", a queue of 1,033 trucks was reported. These figures are provided according to data used in the industry review and do not reflect the real-time situation at checkpoints.

Lengthy waiting reduces the number of trips one truck can make during a week. Consequently, even with an unchanged fleet, transport service supply actually shrinks, and transportation costs increase.

Main grain flows directed to Odesa region

The largest volumes of road transportation of agricultural products during the previous week were on routes to Odesa region.

Grain was actively delivered from Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy, Kharkiv and Kyiv regions. In the west of the country, demand persisted for transportation between Rivne, Khmelnytskyi and Lviv regions.

Logistics costs also depend on the security situation. Due to Russian attacks, carriers have to change their usual routes, which increases trip durations, fuel consumption and usage time of the transport.

For agricultural enterprises, the increase in delivery costs means higher expenses for selling the crop. It may be most noticeable for farms located far from export terminals, elevators and processing plants.

Earlier, "Kurs Ukrainy" reported on the rise in road grain transportation rates in early September. At that time, short routes up to 300 km increased the most, while the current phase of price increase is characterized by stronger growth of rates on long-haul routes.

The further situation will depend on diesel fuel prices, the pace of shipments of the new crop and the capacity of border crossings. If transport shortages and lengthy downtime persist, the pressure on farmers' logistics costs will remain high.

Based on materials from: "Ukrvantage AGRO", Latifundist.com