The Novosibirsk region has become one of the first to use container transportation of grain for export to China.
And in this direction there are great opportunities for growth.
The Novosibirsk region is one of those regions where quite a lot of grain is grown. Including, every year up to 1 million tons goes outside the region.
Therefore, the problem of what and how to transport it is quite urgent.
Recently, the following scheme has been increasingly used for this: rail transport + container transportation.
For the first time, container ships in the region were thought about back in 2017, when there were not enough grain carriers.
And the experience was successful:
In 2017, 20 thousand tons of grain were exported in containers
In 2018 — 40 thousand.
In 2021 — 160 thousand.
In 2022 — 280 thousand.
At the same time, exports to China, based on the use of grain carriers and Russian Railways, are being actively developed.
For example, on December 17, the first pilot train headed from Barabinsk to China, carrying 70 containers and 1,750 tons of grain.
The uniqueness of the flight is that it was carried out directly, without transshipments: from the elevator to the final recipient in China.
It is planned that on December 23, a second similar train will start running.
Railways help farmers
At present, constant contact has been established between Russian Railways and the government of the Novosibirsk Region in the field of grain transportation.
This season, since September, 280 thousand tons of grain have already been exported from the territory of the Novosibirsk region, including 211 thousand for export. This was told by the Minister of Agriculture of the region Yevgeny Leshchenko.
Container platforms need to be developed
At the same time, in order for such a logistics scheme to work effectively, it is important to ensure that a specialized container site is located as close as possible to the elevator.
So far, in the Novosibirsk region there is only one such full-fledged site adapted for working with grain — Barabinskaya. In the near future, it is planned to build a similar facility in Karasuk.
It is planned that this will increase the volume of grain transportation in containers, in particular to China.
In addition, this will provide an opportunity to significantly reduce logistics costs, so that Chinese buyers will be able to receive grain at attractive prices, but Novosibirsk farmers will also benefit from selling their products to exporters.
Currently, Novosibirsk is one of the pioneers in the field of containerized grain transportation. It is possible that other regions will pick up this initiative.
