The migration crisis in the Belarusian-Polish border made it difficult to supply goods and food raw materials for food producers in Russia, because of which the country was under the threat of a deficit, Reuters writes. Some companies are already losses and consider a temporary stop of production in case of deterioration of the situation.
Poland closed several checkpoints across the border with Belarus for freight traffic. The reason was the political tension between the European Union and Minsk – West accused the Belarusian authorities in the motivation of migrants from the Middle East to the illegal crossing of borders. At four points from the six remaining open, long turns of the truck were formed. At the same time, six points of pass across the border of Belarus with Lithuania work as usual.
The representative of the Russian market informed Reuters that the queues at any time of the day include 400-600 trucks that expect the border crossing 2-4 days instead of the usual 12-24 hours. Transport costs for producers have grown significantly, as every day of downtime is worth 500 euros (564 dollars). Food transportation alternative route costs 300-400 euros (338-451 dollar), the source said.
According to another source, the loss of Russian importers is still small – after the deterioration in late January, in early December the situation has stabilized a little. “If the situation worsens, it can lead to the rupture of supply chain and stopping factories,” said the representative of the Russian business.
The movement of trucks from Russia and Belarus to Europe also worsened. Advisory Board of Foreign Investments, which includes food giants Mars, Pepsi, Danone, Nestle, Cocacola, Metro and Tetrapak, on November 18, has already appealed to the Russian government with a collective request to intervene (a copy of the letter is available at Reuters).
“The preservation of the situation in the current form can have a significant impact on the supply chains and the availability of goods for the population, including the goods of the essential, especially considering the increase in cargo and increased demand on the eve of the New Year holidays,” referred to. The author of the letter emphasized that about 10 percent of all imports of Russia passes through the border of Belarus with Poland. The Department of Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, who was addressed to the letter, said he would examine the situation.
The European Union has introduced new sanctions against Belarus due to the situation with migrants at the border. It includes individual prohibitive measures against individuals and legal entities “in connection with the hybrid actions of Belarus on the instrumentalization of migrants to give pressure on the European Union state.”