The Russian invasion in Ukraine is already a fact. On Thursday, February 24th, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin ordered the start of “a special military operation” in his neighboring country. And without a doubt, the situation will lead to innumerable losses, both human and economic. The Russian invasion is already affecting a huge number of sectors. And among them, logistics and transport will see their activity heavily affected.
Fenadismer –National Federation of Transport Associations of Spain– had already warned that tensions between neighboring countries were affecting road transport. The federation explained weeks ago that Spanish transport was being affected by the political situation. And following, Ukraine is the fourth recipient of Spanish exports destined for other non-EU countries. But the risks involved in crossing the Ukrainian borders into both Russia and Belarus mean that exports are not being carried out.
“Ukraine is a market that is growing exponentially for our exporters. It has gone from a value of goods exported to Ukraine in 2017 of 390 million euros to 630 million euros in 2021. However, the trade balance with Ukraine is unbalanced in its favor, with a deficit of 1.36 billion euros in the last exercise. The main exports to Ukraine, and those transported by road, are automobiles, machinery and food products”, reports Fenadismer.
The Russian invasion will cause both transportation and logistics to suffer. Since both the commercial routes and the number of Ukrainian companies are going to see logistics facilities, sales, etc. in danger.
The Russian invasion will affect raw materials
If the price of crude oil had already risen 20% since the beginning of 2022, the Russian invasion of Ukraine will undoubtedly push the price even higher. In addition to oil, Russia is a large producer of raw materials. Amongst them is natural gas, of which Europe is supplied with 46% produced in Russia. In Spain, just under 10% comes from Russia. Other materials of which they are important exporters are aluminum or chips, which will affect other sectors.
From Ukraine, we import 42% of cereals to Spain. In addition, Ukraine accounts for 50% of world sunflower oil exports.
Maritime transport is also affected
The cessation of operations in all Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov will increase the bottlenecks that were already oppressing world freight transport. Even before the invasion, shipowners began to avoid Black Sea shipping lanes and insurers demanded that they be notified of any such voyages. Also, one of the largest container terminals is located in Odessa.
Sources: Logística Profesional, As, El Diario & El Economista.