Ukraine's freight railway tariffs should be cut by 10% – expert

Ukrmetprom President Oleksandr Kalenkov says freight railway tariffs should be reduced by 10% in Ukraine under the current crisis conditions.

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"Amid the crisis in all industries in global markets, we need to consider the issue of lowering Ukrzaliznytsia's tariffs by 10%, that is to set such a precedent. This will give an additional incentive to Ukrzaliznytsia to improve its internal efficiency," he said at a roundtable discussion on the Ukrzaliznytsia reform on November 14.

According to Kalenkov, there is a global economic crisis de facto. "Today, all Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises are operating at a loss. For the second month in a row, we have seen a 10% decline in steel production. And the most unpleasant thing is the situation is expected to worsen," he said.

He expressed confidence that the government and businesses would be working together so that Ukraine could pass the crisis with minimal losses.

"Now enterprises are saving every hryvnia [Ukraine's national currency] in their spending and are making huge efforts to remain in global markets. They also expect a competent and balanced state policy from the government," Kalenkov added.

In his opinion, the government could reinstate a decreasing coefficient of 0.25 to Ukrzaliznytsia when the latter pays land tax, as well as compensate funds the company pays to the Road Fund when purchasing diesel fuel.