Supply chain impact from Ukraine war manageable says minister

Despite some expected price increases, Cyprus’ supply chain will not be significantly hit by the war in Ukraine, Deputy Minister of Shipping Vasilis Demetriades said on Friday.

Speaking from Paphos, Demetriades told the media the war has exacerbated supply chain problems which persisted due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He explained that prices have risen due to the increase in tanker freight rates, and “inevitably some prices and some costs will be passed on to consumers”.

The large increase in tanker fares, the deputy minister said, will hit the island as the transport of products to Cyprus depends purely on sea transport.

Saying that authorities are monitoring the situation on a daily basis, Demetriades explained how the impact will depend on Russian sanctions decided on a European level.

“We are waiting to see the scope and form that the sanctions set by the EU and the international community will take… the degree of the impact on Cyprus will also depend on the sanctions,” he said.

So far, the sanctions imposed on Russia regarding maritime transport are manageable, Demetriades said, stressing that the island’s shipping industry is not affected to a great extent.

He added that a strategy was formulated to make the shipping industry resilient to crises and noted that this is why Cyprus is turning to other markets to attract companies and ships.