Cargo Overseas and Russia
Freightaid had the opportunity to interview Mark Reid, Company Director at Cargo Overseas Limited. After his recent trip to Kemerovo in Russia we wanted to talk to him about how Cargo Overseas move cargo into Russia. This is what he had to say.
How Long have Cargo Overseas been operating in Russia.
Cargo Overseas have been involved in providing freight forwarding and multi-modal services into Russia since1990. Primarily at the start for our long-term customer Joy Mining but we now serve a large number of companies in the region.
Is there enough business between the UK and Russia to warrant the investment you have in Russia.
Cargo Overseas primary Russian business has never been shipping cargo from the UK to Russia. The bulk of our movements and charters actually come from other areas of the world. The U.S.A., Australia, South America and Europe are major exporting markets into Russia and one’s where Cargo Overseas have operated successfully for many years.
How difficult is it to import goods into Russia.
Like any area of the world Russia can be quite difficult to work within if you do not know the local rules and customs. Freight forwarders regularly get tripped up by handling Russia as if they were just shipping to another European country. Different regions of Russia have their own variations on the main rules and having a familiarity with the local set-up is key to the smooth transition of goods into Russia.
Which is the most popular mode of transport into Russia.
Different commodities require different modes of transport. Seafreight and Road are major modal factors but not always are they the best choice. We regularly rail and fly cargo into Russia or use a combination of all modes. An example of this would be Roadfreight across the US to a major port before loading onto a vessel into Europe and then Railfreight for the last leg of the journey into Russia. A more important question than what is the most popular mode of transport would be what are the best gateways.
Well what are the best gateways.
The best gateways into Russia are those which allow a direct transit to the end user. Most freight forwarders rely on the same transhipment points. St.Petersburg / Moscow / Riga and Helsinki are one’s that most freight forwarders know about and use. Funnily though with the exception of Riga Cargo Overseas rarely use any of the above. We may send goods into one of Moscow’s Airports but only if that is where the end-user is, we never use it for transhipment. We have developed services using other ports and airports and work closely with airlines to ensure that they can handle our cargo through to final airport without hitting the usual customs formalities en-route.
What are your suggestions for companies looking to export into Russia.
