The recent decisions at the Belarus-Polish border and the tightening of controls at Poland’s frontiers with Lithuania are not expected to disrupt the flow of goods headed for Russia. This assessment comes from industry participants in the international cargo transport market as reported by TASS.
Industry analyst Ivan Golovko, who heads international transport at Noytech Supply Chain Solutions, notes that current conditions keep alternative overland routes viable for delivering goods to Russia. He explains that routes through Turkey and Finland remain practical options, even as shipments from Poland and Lithuania face higher costs and longer transit times.
Golovko emphasizes that shipments routed via Poland and Lithuania will likely not be economically attractive in the present environment. He states that the Finland corridor would extend travel time by three to four days and raise costs by roughly 30 to 40 percent. Routes through Turkey would add weeks to the journey and push expenses up by 50 to 70 percent.
As another option, rail transport is mentioned. However, Golovko cautions that this mode may not be suitable for temperature-controlled cargo or mixed shipments that require careful handling and quick transfers, which could limit its applicability for certain freight types.
On February 9, Polish authorities announced the closure of the Belarus border crossing at Bobrovniki. The move drew a formal protest from Belarus. Later, on February 25, Giedrius Mishutis from the State Border Guard Service of Lithuania indicated that queues of trucks at the Belarusian border remained a significant obstacle and that rapid remediation would be challenging given the scale of the buildup, with more than a thousand trucks previously lining up at peak times.