Kazakhstan introduces a ban on the entry of rolling stock from neighboring countries

“By removing competitors, the country is trying to support local operators”

Recently, there have been changes in relations between Moscow and Astana that are not for the better. Especially zealously Kazakhstan defends its interests in the economic field. There is nothing reprehensible in the struggle for one’s own benefit, but there must be a measure in everything. Take, for example, the situation that has arisen in the field of cargo transportation. From December 18, Kazakhstan closes the borders for Russian trains. The restriction will last until February 28. What dangers are fraught with stopping the entry of empty cars, MK understood.

Kazakhstan introduces a ban on the transportation of all own and rented empty boxcars, gondola cars and grain carriers by the railways of Kazakhstan (National Company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy JSC (hereinafter referred to as KTZh) (the only carrier in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, an analogue of Russian Railways OJSC). This was announced by the Council for Railway Transport of the Commonwealth Member States (CSZhT).The document is at the disposal of “MK”.The restriction will be valid from December 18 to February 28.

This is not the first time such a ban has been introduced. In June 2020, Kazakhstan introduced an indefinite conventional ban on the import of empty gondola cars into its territory from other states. December 2021 – and another ban. At the end of September 2022, there was a temporary restriction on the use of its railway infrastructure. For the most part, the arguments are the same: a surplus of rolling stock on its own railway network, which leads to infrastructure congestion.

In fact, it turns out that this ban removes competitors represented by domestic companies from the territory of Kazakhstan. The competitive balance in the cross-border market for the organization of rail transportation of grain cargo on the territory of the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space is collapsing. The convention ban on KTZh creates discriminatory conditions for Russian owners of grain carriers to conduct business in the cross-border market for the provision of services for organizing the transportation of grain cargo within the geographical boundaries of the Customs Union.

“Kazakhstan has made an attempt to oust Russian companies from the region. This is a very big problem,” says State Duma deputy, member of the Committee on Agrarian Issues Sergei Lisovsky. — We can say that Kazakhstan stabbed Russia in the back. Meanwhile, a lot of cargo goes from Russia through Kazakhstan to China, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.”

Russian operators are asking to cancel this unauthorized restriction. In their opinion, by introducing conventional bans, KTZ aims to create preferences for its own subsidiaries – dependent companies and conceal unsatisfactory results of work to ensure the export of goods of Kazakhstani shippers. This leads to an increase in the share of income of companies dependent on KTZh due to direct damage to the infrastructure of Russian Railways. This was reported in the company “Technotrans” (operator of grain and covered freight wagons).

“There are many plans, and they have already been approved. These are transit, export and import transportations through the territory of Kazakhstan. And now, it turns out that from December 18 we won’t even be able to enter their territory,” says Viktor Chuikin, general director of the grain and covered freight wagon operator Technotrans. — Kazakhstan is experiencing an acute shortage of grain carriers during the period of mass transportation of grain and closes the country along the outer perimeter of the border for several months. And this is not the first time this has happened. Thus, by removing competitors, the country is trying to support local operators. Russian and Belarusian fleets of wagons are cheaper by a third. They are of interest to shippers. And now they will have to use the Kazakh, more expensive fleet of cars. But the situation with the movement is already tense. Winter, roads need to be cleared. Now there will be hundreds of abandoned trains that will stand at the border. What to do with them? Unclear”.

Russian operators believe that this measure clearly demonstrates KTZ’s interference in the financial and economic activities of domestic companies involved in the transportation of grain and other goods, and emphasizes the anti-competitive nature of the convention.

Thus, the entire Republic of Kazakhstan, and not its individual stations, consignors, falls within the scope of the convention. Meanwhile, the introduction of bans of this kind along the entire perimeter of the state border belongs to the sphere of national policy and is not the jurisdiction of an economic entity – KTZ.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 28934 dated December 16, 2022

Newspaper headline:
A wagon between Moscow and Astana