Russian agricultural exports choose a new route
Russian Railways OJSC and KDY Logistics, an Azerbaijani company, organized regular transportation of onions in refrigerated containers from Astrakhan to Azerbaijan. Transportation of the transport on this route by rail will reduce the time of delivery compared to transportation by sea.
Refrigerated containers with agricultural products are shipped from Kutum station of the Privolzhskaya railway (PrivRW, branch of Russian Railways) to Ganja station of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

“The exporter of onions is LLC Sun Light-Astrakhan” (a company in the wholesale trade of agricultural products. – Ed.). We plan to attract on the route and other goods. This year the company is going to send grain to Azerbaijan and Turkey. It will arrive in grain carriers from different regions of Russia, packaged at Kutum station in soft specialized containers and dive into refrigerated containers for further transportation, ”said Irina Shvetsova, head of the Astrakhan agency for transport service of the Volga region.
PR-and marketing manager of KDY Logistics Barat Gubatov told “Гудок” that in March a daily train of 14 refrigerated containers will be formed along this route, and starting from April – from 28.
“The volume of transported products in the first delivery amounted to 350 tons. The rolling stock owned by our company is used for transportation, ”he explained.
According to the representative of San Light-Astrakhan LLC Javanshir Mamedov, transportation by rail is faster and safer than shipping by sea.

“Before, vegetables and fruits were transported by sea, but because of the humidity they began to deteriorate, losing quality and presentation,” he noted.
Recall that the Russian Railways and KDY Logistics created a railway logistics hub in Kutum station in Astrakhan for the supply of fruits and vegetables, in which the Azerbaijani company invested about 2 billion rubles.
Barat Gubatov said that in the future it is planned to deliver all possible fruits and vegetables, depending on the season, from Astrakhan to Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey, as well as back to Astrakhan and from there to cities in Russia. Delivery from Astrakhan to Azerbaijan (Baku) takes 20 hours, from Astrakhan to Turkey (Mersin) – 104 hours, and from Astrakhan to Iran (Astara) – 28 hours.
“This project is part of the North-South international transport corridor (MTC). Thus, it will unite Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan and India with the help of railways, ”said Barat Gubatov.
According to the deputy head of the Astrakhan Agency for Corporate Transport Service of the Russian Railways JSC TZFTO Elena Babenko, the logistics hub will contribute to an increase in both the turnover of the North-South ITC and the load of the railway stations of the Volga Railway. In addition, the mutually beneficial exchange of goods between countries and the similar construction of a logistics chain for their delivery will make it possible to use the rolling stock to the full, without an empty run. Logistics | Integration
Author: Ksenia Yermakova, Inga Bykova, «Гудок» newspaper