Belarus intends to export meat to China by rail. The first train with reefer containers is expected to depart from Belarus in November. Belintertrans, a logistics subsidiary of Belarusian Railway, is negotiating with local meat producers to consolidate cargoes at Kolyadichi Terminal, the country’s major intermodal facility in the environs of Minsk.

After the success in rail transportation of dairy products, Belarusian Railway switched to the supply of meat, another important export product of the country. To this end, Belintertrans has intensive talks with meat producers. The negotiations are held together with Meat Dairy Company, the state-owned enterprise established to promote Belarusian products abroad and facilitate their export to foreign markets.

“It is required to organise not only the last mile delivery in China but also the first mile in Belarus, taking into account the enterprises from which it is necessary to collect meat and consolidate it in our hub (Kolyadichi Terminal – RailFreight)”, said Andrey Sladkevich, CEO of Belintertrans, quoted in Belarusian Telegraph Agency (BelTA).

Milk trains

At the beginning of September 2018, Belarusian Railway launched the first container train to China loaded with dairy products. It delivered the Belarusian goods from Kolyadichi Terminal to Chengdu. Afterwards, other “milk” routes connected Belarus and China including the links from Kolyadichi to Chongqing and from Brest to Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Wuhan. The average delivery time is 10-12 days. In the period from September 2018 to September 2019, ten “milk” trains have departed from Belarus to China.

Single containers

All the “milk” connections between Belarus and China were arranged by Belintertrans in partnership with UTLC ERA and Meat Dairy Company. The specialised container trains have been made possible by the improved and faster service of Belarusian Railway. In 2018 the railway company started to dispatch single containers without forming block trains (which usually consist of 41 containers) but coupling them to other wagonsets heading to China. This technology is extremely important for dairy and meat products.

Do you want to know more about the New Silk Road and its latest developments? On 26 and 27 November the European Silk Road Summit takes place in Venlo, the Netherlands. At this two-day international event more than 35 speakers and around 250 delegates will share their experiences, expertise and latest news. Registration for the event is now open. The programme and speakers can be found on the website.

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