Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company plans to increase iron ore transportation by almost a third

Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company has extended its agreement with consumers of iron ore in European countries, anticipating a 30% increase in volumes.

This was announced by Vladislav Belakh, Deputy CEO of UDP.

"In a fierce competition, we managed to win the tender, extend the agreement for the next year and even convince the client to increase the volume by 30%. The modernized fleet of UDPs will deliver iron ore, which will provide the company with a much higher level of profitability," said Vladislav Belakh.

There are also preliminary agreements with producers and traders of agricultural products in European countries.

"This year Serbian farmers faced the problem of poor quality corn. This had a very negative impact on exports. Next year, the situation with agricultural exports from Serbia should improve significantly. In January and February, the market will still be at the bottom. Starting from March, we expect a significant increase in work for the UDP fleet. Next year, we expect to export up to 600 thousand tons of agricultural products from Serbia. We have reached preliminary agreements with both large traders and local producers who are engaged in logistics to the seaport of Constanta on their own," explained Vladislav Belakh.

The reduction in supply from other carriers will also contribute to the increase in the utilization of the UDP fleet. Next year, UDP aims to build long-term relationships with customers, but on flexible terms. As for Ukraine's agricultural exports, it is almost impossible to ensure a guaranteed export flow across the Danube without government support. The issue of a discount on the railroad tariff to Izmail has not yet been resolved.

Кирило Бойко