Prihláste sa na odber noviniek
The war in Ukraine brought a debate on the transport of agricultural products to Slovak railways. Although the year 2024 does not come close to 2023 in terms of volumes, it is still worthwhile talking about the transportation of agricultural products by rail.
In 2023, ZSSK CARGO transported more than 1 million tons of agricultural products on import, export and transit. But already in the first months of 2024, after the reopening of the port in Odesa, Ukraine, shipments after transshipment from Ukraine fell to one third of the volumes from the previous year. And although this commodity was seen as a prospective substitute for declining iron ore shipments, reality has shown that these are very volatile shipments.
Grains and oilseeds from Ukraine - decline, but not ceased
Despite this, the transit transport of Ukrainian corn and rapeseed oil on Slovak railways stabilized, albeit at significantly lower volumes. In 2024, for example, trains from Ukraine's Baťov or Ključarka headed to Germany, routed through transit stations in Čadca and Bratislava-Petržalka. Block trains of grain wagons complemented the transportation of edible oils, for which ZSSK CARGO has built excellent facilities and capacities at the East Slovakian transshipment points. And the oils went not only for export to Italy, but also from Veľká Ida to Poland in 2024, for example.
And so, although agricultural products in transit will not contribute as much to the commodity mix this year as in 2023, it can be said that after a decline over many years, this commodity is once again becoming a constant on the list of commodities that ZSSK CARGO transports.
Reduction in the transport of agricultural products from Slovakia
Why did food products have such a strong attenuation? The main reason was the increase in competition from road transport and the railway infrastructure of former farmlands, which often had railway sidings, but with a capacity of 5-6 wagons. Today, however, 30-34 wagon complete sets are driven for export, usually to ports. The operation with a six-fold shunting can thus make the railway more expensive - in addition, there is a lot of competition between rail transporters and the wagons are mainly owned by large grain merchants and leasing companies - so the freight rail carrier has "only" traction left.
The forgotten sugar beets
The second commodity, which in the past dominated the Slovak railways every year for several months, was sugar beet. Today, competitor of ZSSK CARGO loads beets into open top wagons from Slovakia and transports them abroad. Of the originally 15 Slovak sugar factories, only two remained operating these days and these do not use the railway - they prefer non-ecological road transport. Fifteen years ago, up to 70% of the volume of beet grown was transported by rail. At the same time, beet campaigns are still a significant strengthening of railway transport in Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Switzerland for several months.
The export of agricultural commodities did not stop completely
However, ZSSK CARGO is still fighting for every single shipment, and it does not go without a response. Throughout the year, but especially after the end of the harvest and during exports in the winter months, it places wagons, usually sets of 18-32 wagons, for loading under silos, where tractors and trucks deliver grain for storage. In this way, in 2024, ZSSK CARGO carried out transports from, for example from Lučenec, Gbelce, Chotín, Trebišov, Bánovce nad Ondavou, or Galanta.
Single wagonloads in food
Among other things, Slovakia is a silent star of European malt production. In addition to the transports we have already written about, it uses another of its advantages – the service of single wagonload (SWL) shipments. For the food commodity, it has a fleet of Tdgns type wagons, which are combined into groups of five to six wagons and regularly rotate between Slovak Hurbanovo and the brewery in northern Austria. Two groups of these wagons in constant rotation ensure that the brewery has a regular supply of fresh raw material for its production and does not need to keep large stocks of it. The network of ZSSK CARGO handling and continuous trains from Štúrovo to Bratislava and the border with Austria guarantees the stability of deliveries. Between 2023 and 2024, these shipments increased fivefold. However, the advantage is that there is a railway siding at both ends – at the Slovak supplier and the Austrian customer, and the malt does not reach Slovakian or Austrian roads at all. And so consumers canenjoy their favorite beer - thanks to ZSSK CARGO.
If this topic is interesting to you, please contact our Food Commodity Sales Manager for more information regarding shipments: peleskova.denisa@zscargo.sk
Photo: Filip Devoša, Marián Tlelka, Filip Havrilčák, Matúš Ihnát
