{"id":156627,"date":"2025-09-22T22:12:39","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T19:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/156627\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"polands-border-closure-hits-belarusian-railway-fertilizer-exports-insider","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/156627\/","title":{"rendered":"Poland\u2019s border closure hits Belarusian Railway, fertilizer exports\u2014insider"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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September 22, Pozirk. <\/em><\/strong>The Community of Railway Workers of Belarus (CRW), an opposition resistance group with insiders in Belarusian Railway (BR), has reported that Poland\u2019s border closure has severely affected not only the railway but also Bie\u0142aruskalij, a major fertilizer exporter and a key source of revenue for the Belarusian government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile Belarusian Railway\u2019s lost revenue can be estimated in tens of millions of dollars, the consequences for Bie\u0142aruskalij are even more strategic\u2014a reduction in container traffic deprives the company of one of its few remaining routes to China,\u201d the CRW said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bie\u0142aruskalij has become increasingly reliant on Russian infrastructure, facing higher costs and growing vulnerability to port congestion and changes in Russian tariff policy. The Belarusian potash giant is also encountering rising logistics expenses, the CRW noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main impact of the border closure for both Belarusian Railway and Bie\u0142aruskalij, however, is the disruption of a stable flow of empty containers from Europe after unloading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis creates a shortage of containers for export shipments and forces Bie\u0142aruskalij to either seek pricier containers on the Russian market or reduce shipments,\u201d the group explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tensions at the border could also result in the loss of some transit contracts for BR, which might be redirected to Russia or Turkey, it added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BR faces these economic challenges while struggling to repay \u201csignificant debts.\u201d \u201cFor three weeks now, the company has operated in what is effectively an austerity mode due to the forced downtime of diesel locomotives caused by a shortage of diesel fuel. The Bie\u0142naftachim group suspended fuel deliveries because of BR\u2019s debts,\u201d the report states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAssuming BR receives only 10\u201315 percent of transit and infrastructure tariff revenue, the lost income from suspended freight operations alone could reach $40\u201350 million by the end of September 2025, depending on the number of delayed trains,\u201d the CRW added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Chinese exporters, China-Europe freight services \u201chave been reduced but have not stopped entirely. Schedules have been cut, and some trains are operating with fewer wagons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poland closed the border with Belarus, including railway crossings, on September 12 in connection with the Belarusian-Russian military exercise Zapad-2025, which ran from September 12 to 16. The border will remain closed until further notice due to concerns over the safety of Polish citizens, the Polish interior ministry stated after the drill ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warsaw has emphasized that it does not benefit economically from the border closure but is prioritizing security over trade, Polish foreign ministry spokesman Pawe\u0142 Wro\u0144ski said following talks with Chinese officials three days after the closure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relations between Minsk and Warsaw, already strained by Belarus’ refusal to release journalist and Polish minority activist Andrzej Poczobut from prison and irregular migration, have worsened this month following the arrest of Polish national Grzegorz Gawe\u0142 in Lepel, Viciebsk region, the expulsion of a Belarusian diplomat from Poland, and heightened tensions between Poland and Russia after an unprecedented incursion of military drones into Polish territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On September 17, Politico<\/em> reported<\/a> that the border closure affects the trade route carrying 90 percent of rail freight between China and the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier today, Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka condemned Poland\u2019s closure of its border with Belarus as an unfriendly act toward China during a meeting with Li Xi, a high-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI realize that this is most likely an unfriendly move by the Poles\u2014a political act against the People\u2019s Republic of China or perhaps a move designed to boost their image, as the Poles believe,\u201d his press office quoted him as saying. \u201cBut it is by no means an economic move, because an empire like China will easily cope with this problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPoland is acting like a show horse for the benefit of other countries,\u201d \u0141uka\u0161enka added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Minsk steps up rhetorical attacks on Poland over border closure<\/h3>\n
September 22, Pozirk. The Belarusian foreign ministry\u2019s unofficial Telegram channel has denounced Poland\u2019s closure of its border with Belarus \u201cpolitical racketeering.\u201d The statement comes during the Minsk visit by Li Xi, a high-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of …<\/div>\n \n