The Ukrainian Agri Council, together with other leading associations that are members of the Ukrainian Agrarian Forum (UAF), has officially appealed to Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and the Ministry of Development of Communities and Territories with a demand not to allow another disproportionate increase in tariffs for freight rail transportation, which is being initiated by JSC "Ukrzaliznytsia."

According to the UAF's appeal, the railway monopolist proposes to cover its projected losses for 2026 through a linear increase in rates for all classes of cargo by 30% at once, as well as through the introduction of a single unified tariff for empty wagons. The country's leading specialized associations consider such an approach to be purely administrative, economically unjustified, and harmful to the national economy under wartime conditions.

Key risks and business grievances:

• Hidden cross-subsidization: The UAF emphasizes that "Ukrzaliznytsia" maintains a non-market practice, where the cost of logistics depends not on its real prime cost, but on the type of cargo. In particular, the transportation of coal and construction materials is planned to be loss-making for UZ, and the state company has for years covered these gaps at the expense of artificially inflating tariffs for farmers and metallurgists.
• Loss of the cargo base and displacement onto roads: The inflexible tariff policy has already led to the railway losing most of the profitable fuel transportation, which has shifted to road transport. A further increase in tariffs will only intensify this outflow, deepening the financial crisis of "Ukrzaliznytsia" itself.
• A direct violation of European integration commitments: A proportional increase instead of deep reform contradicts the agreements with the EU. The European model requires a clear separation of the infrastructure operator and the carrier, the admission of private traction, as well as the introduction of a single transparent tariff for access to the railway network.

"The decision to proportionally raise tariffs, instead of leveling them to ensure the absence of loss-making transportation, is not well-considered and contradicts Ukraine's European integration aspirations, since it once again postpones the transition to the European model of setting tariffs for freight transportation," the UAF emphasizes.

The agricultural community calls on the government to abandon the practice of mechanically raising prices. Instead, business proposes to immediately move to the differentiation of tariffs by types of shipments (for example, block-train shipments, which ensure maximum profitability for the railway) and to establish a single base tariff based solely on the prime cost of operations and a fixed level of profitability approved by the Government.

In the UAF's view, such a step would create the right market incentives, support local producers with low added value, and increase the overall resilience of the Ukrainian economy during a critical wartime period.

For reference: The public union "Ukrainian Agrarian Forum" (UAF) was created to coordinate and represent a unified position of Ukraine's agricultural sector. It includes the largest sectoral associations: the Agrarian Union of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Agri Council, the Poultry Breeders Union of Ukraine Association, the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation, the Ukrainian Agribusiness Club Association, the Association of Milk Producers, the Pig Breeders of Ukraine Association, and the National Association of Sugar Producers of Ukraine.