Ukrainian government should expand logistics routes for exporting products - Zhevago

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"We need to develop the most efficient and cheapest logistics routes possible. Because logistics cost a lot of money. And this is the cost and competitiveness of our products. We can develop railroads, ports, large ports that can accommodate huge ocean-going boats and ships. We must develop all of this. And it is the government, which is elected by the people, which receives its salary from taxpayers, from Ukrainian people, that should pay attention to this. Unfortunately, there are very few specialists left in the Cabinet of Ministers. Instead, the government has a lot of incompetent people who have not been paying attention to this for the past two years," the businessman said.

According to Zhevago, competitive tariffs are essential for Ukrainian massive ports, which are currently lacking competitiveness. "The cost of services in the ports of Odessa is twice as high as in the ports of Turkey and Canada. It is 1.5 times higher than in the USA and 3 times higher than in China. How can we compete under such conditions? How can we boost exports, which are crucial for our economy, when our logistics is non-competitive?" explained Zhevago.

The entrepreneur also added that for the past 15 years, there have been discussions about the need to liberalize the railway system. "The situation is similar in the railway sector, where we have a lot of potential. In 2017, when we signed the association with the European Community, there was a commitment to liberalize the railway by 2023. The plan was to allow private owners to use their locomotives within the Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukraine's national railway company - ed.) network to transport goods. The high logistics cost is detrimental to exports, undermining our competitiveness, jobs in Ukraine, and tax revenue. The government needs to address these issues, focusing on ports, railways, rolling stock, and measures that can enhance our country's exports," summarized Zhevago.

*Kostyantyn Zhevago is a relative of the ultimate beneficial owner of the Espreso TV channel.