Privolzhskaya Railway is ready to promote Astrakhan export to China

The issues of enhancing Russian-Chinese cooperation were discussed at an extended online meeting with representatives of state authorities and business entities of Astrakhan, Volgograd and Saratov regions, the management of the Privolzhskaya Railway - a branch of JSC "Russian Railways" with partners from the People's Republic of China. The meeting was attended by the Deputy Head of the regional Agency for International Relations Ilya Toropitsyn.

According to the head of the Privolzhskaya Railway Sergey Almeyev, over the past two years, the volume of transit traffic from China to Europe passing through the  Privolzhskaya Highway has increased several times. For comparison: in 2019, 227 tons of cargo passed through the Ozinki border crossing, and in 2020-more than 290 thousand tons. In January-February 2021, more than 91 thousand tons were transported.

"At the same time, the logistics chain of regular international container transit is currently organized in such a way that rolling stock returns mostly empty from Europe to China via Russia," said Sergey Almeyev. "Taking into account the presence of a cargo base in the regions of the Lower Volga region, we propose to organize the passing loading of empty wagons and containers with goods that are produced in the Saratov, Volgograd and Astrakhan regions."

During the meeting, topics relevant to Astrakhan region and other regions of the Lower Volga region, which are served by the Russian Railways, were discussed. These include creating conditions for domestic products to enter the Chinese market, building up the transit potential of the regions, taking into account the favorable prospects for the development of trade relations between the two countries.

The President of the Union "Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Astrakhan Region" Stanislav Sinchenko cited in his speech the indicators of the foreign trade turnover of our region with China. In 2020, it amounted to US $ 92 million and increased by 1.5% compared to the previous year.

"The Chamber is ready to assist the management of Russian Railways and representatives of Astrakhan business community in establishing business relations with partners from China," he said.

The agro-industrial complex of Astrakhan region also intends to develop cooperation with China. This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Fishing Industry of the region Kayum Osmanov. One of the most promising areas is aquaculture. The annual volume of fish caught from natural reservoirs is 43 thousand tons. More than 20 thousand tons of fish are also grown in aquaculture, including 1,600 tons of sturgeon fish.

"We are ready to offer a wide range of fish and fish processing products for export to China, as well as to consider the possibility of creating joint ventures for the cultivation of commercial fish, its processing and further delivery," he said.

A number of investment projects are being successfully implemented in the regional agro-industrial complex. One of them is a plant for the production of tomato paste with a volume of 50 thousand tons of products per year. Farmers have a good experience of growing both traditional and rare crops – such as cotton, peanuts, pistachios. It is planned to increase their volumes and assortment.

"We are ready to consider the issues of supplying Astrakhan fish, crop and livestock products to China, teaming up with the Privolzhskaya Railway to look into launching logistics points," said Kayum Osmanov.

During the meeting, representatives of the Russian Railways presented a number of projects and transport solutions which allow to introduce convenient logistics for the delivery of various goods from Russia to China and in the opposite direction, including on the "door-to-door" principle.

The main advantage, which was emphasized by the railway officials, was logistics. From the Ozinki station to the borders with China through Kazakhstan, cargo delivery takes four days. This is several times faster than the water routes used by shippers from the European part of Russia.

The participants of the online meeting expressed hope for long-term cooperation in the field of cargo transportation.