Huge Damage: How Much Will the Closed Border With Poland Cost Belarus

The illegal regime also provoked a transport crisis.

Some have been standing for a day, others - for a week. The queue of trucks at some customs points reaches several tens of kilometers. In the afternoon, according to the information of the State Border Committee of Belarus, more than 4,200 heavy trucks awaited a pass to Europe at the borders of the republic. Along with the migration crisis, a transport crisis comes to Belarus, Belsat reports.

“The most important factor is the delay in goods. And this is always a very big expense - downtime for every day. This means that these costs will be passed on to the consumer, one way or another. That's one. Second, there are also perishable goods. That is, the physical volumes of supplies will also decline. Ultimately, it all boils down to the fact that all things that are brought in this way will inevitably be more expensive,” economist Siarhei Chaly is convinced.

However, not only the expiration date of the products is running out but also the patience of the drivers. From those who have been at the border for more than 24 hours, there are reports of the first conflicts on the road between those who honestly stand in line and those who are trying to get in without the queue.

“During the day, for this reason, the drivers fought on the radio. Then about five or six colleagues from the "tail" went through the intersection to sort things out with those who got in the middle of the queue. All truckers are now very annoyed: you wait in line for days, you can neither take a shower nor go to the toilet normally - on top of the problem with these "cunning" ones. The traffic police should be more actively involved, otherwise, it’s certain that someday everything will end sadly: either someone’s face will be smashed or the tires will begin to cut,” said one of the drivers, who is standing in line at the border.

A lot of foreign cargoes go through Belarus to Europe, including from Russia. However, according to experts, the next crisis on the border will noticeably hit only the Belarusian business and budget.

Economists believe that, from the point of view of development, from the point of view of trust in our country as a logistics partner, a trade partner, a closed border is huge damage.

The transport crisis on the border of Belarus with the European Union was the result of the migration crisis and the closure of the Kuznitsa-Bruzgi checkpoint. If migrants continue to try to break through the border, the Polish authorities threaten to completely close the border with Belarus. Then the queues of heavy trucks can increase significantly. And the budget of Belarus, according to economists, may lose about one and $1.5 billion. This is half of all profits from the export of transport services.