Crimea found itself in a logistics bag
The opening of automobile traffic along the Crimean Bridge solved the problems of logistics and trade turnover between the peninsula and the Russian mainland, but did not allow reducing prices for goods in the republic.
Experts interviewed by Rossiyskaya Gazeta say the reason for this is that transport companies bringing goods to Crimea are forced to include in their price the return journey for trucks, which often return to the mainland empty, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“Crimea is a kind of logistics bag, where the consumption of goods in general is much greater than the products produced. Today, road carriers, delivering cargo to Crimea, are faced with the fact that they have nothing to transport back. Consequently, each participant in this market puts in empty mileage on the return trip to the nearest place where cargo accumulates, the Krasnodar Territory,” notes the former Minister of Transport of the Republic, Chairman of the Association of Freight Carriers and Forwarders Anatoly Tsurkin.
According to the head of the association “Promotion of Trade in Crimea” Sergei Makeev, the creation of logistics centers on the peninsula could solve the problem.
“In order to actively influence pricing, Crimea needs a civilized wholesale trade system and logistics centers. The Ministry of Economic Development of Crimea is considering an investment project to create a wholesale center on Moskovskoye Highway in the Simferopol region. They also plan to create logistics centers in Sevastopol, in the area of Feodosia and Kerch,” Makeev said.
Earlier, Crimean Governor Sergei Aksyonov acknowledged that opening the bridge to heavy-duty trucks would only speed up the delivery of goods, not reduce costs.
According to him, the main reason that prices have not fallen is the lack of competition.
Crimea finds itself in a logistical bind.