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Poland-Belarus Border Closure Strands Freight, Hits Trade Between China, Russia, and Europe
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The closure of the Poland–Belarus border has triggered a cascade of disruptions across Eurasian trade routes, hitting shipments bound for Russia and snarling transit from China to Europe. In Kazakhstan, a transport collapse has left freight trains stranded, including those carrying cargo to Russia. Freight traffic through the border crossing has been halted at least until September 30.
This was reported by The Moscow Times on September 23.
Companies seeking alternatives have tried switching to road transport, but inspections on the Russian side have paralyzed the effort. Trucks are stuck in multi-day queues at the border.
“It’s just chaos—our customs officers demand piles of documents and conduct full inspections of Kazakh trucks, while since September 19 Kazakh customs officers have been sending Russian truck drivers, often carrying perishable goods, to temporary storage facilities to wait for complete inspections,” an employee of a major transport company told reporters.
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The impact is already being felt. Cargo owners whose shipments failed to move by rail are forced to pay for extra storage days at warehouses, The Moscow Times reported.
“For now, these are relatively minor expenses—our importers are used to constant disruptions, and a week-long delay is unpleasant but not unusual. But if Kazakhstan continues blocking transport, the costs will become far more significant,” a freight forwarding manager said.
According to The Moscow Times, citing three Russian logistics experts, the Chinese side has confirmed that all transit train traffic has been disrupted since September 16 due to the Polish border closure. Transit routes, especially rail lines through Brest and Małaszewicze, are considered critical for container shipments along the new Silk Road.
“The importance of these corridors cannot be overstated,” emphasized Anna Majowicz, president of the Polish Road Transport Institute Foundation. Russian Railways data illustrates the scale: from January to August, 30.7 million tons of transit cargo moved by rail through Russia. Almost all of it passed through land border crossings, with only 788,000 tons shipped via ports.
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Some transit cargo is now being redirected through Lithuania, but long queues have already formed there, increasing both delivery times and costs, Majowicz noted. Redirecting rail shipments, however, is far from simple. Significant numbers of transit trains are backed up along the Russia–Kazakhstan border, clogging the tracks. Logistics experts report that the Chinese side is urging companies to reroute shipments through the Zabaikalsk crossing in Zabaykalsky Krai or Erlian in Irkutsk region. Still, they caution the measure can only be temporary.
“We’re already expecting traffic jams there too,” said one logistics source.
Earlier, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna said Poland may suspend the transit of goods through Belarus unless bilateral relations will “normalize.”
