Russia Incentivizes Exports To Friendly Countries By Offering 50% Transport Discounts

Russian exporters can now receive subsidies of up to 50% to compensate for transportation costs when exporting their products to friendly countries, according to Dmitry Kuskov, Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Licensing for Foreign Trade of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade. Kuskov announced this at the plenary session of the transport and logistics congress TransRussia on Friday, 21 March.

According to Kuskov, a project to support companies using complex and long-distance logistics routes (for example, to Latin America) is under approval by the Ministry of Transport. The support mechanism will work on a competitive basis and should be launched in the next few months. Russian logistics operators will be able to provide discounts to exporters on funds they receive from the federal budget.

Kuskov said “This measure is designed to ‘roll out’ new routes. It is possible to apply for the tender throughout March, with each transport corridor allocated ₽500 million (US$6 million). The subsidies will affect transportation to countries such as Tanzania, Brazil, Cuba and other friendly states.”

In February this year, the Ministry of Industry and Trade announced the launch of a new subsidy program designed to roll out new routes to which Russian logistics had shifted with the imposition of sanctions and which, until recently, were considered economically unjustified due to their considerable length. This year, these priority areas include African and Latin American countries as Nicaragua, Senegal, Venezuela, Brazil, Cuba, South Africa and Tanzania.

Maritime operators that provide container transportation services from Russia’s Baltic Sea and the Azov-Black Sea Ports can also apply for subsidies, and they will provide a discount on the delivery of non-energy exports.

Russia is also planning to build at least six transport and logistics centres in other countries by 2030 to support Russia’s export logistics. These are expected to include Egypt and Tanzania in Africa, Turkiye and Qatar in the Middle East, and Indonesia in Southeast Asia.