Truck queues grow at Moldova-Romania border as Ukrainian exports and grain season add pressure

In brief

• Truck queues have lengthened at all customs points on the Moldova-Romania border.
• Moldovan customs clear about 3,000 trucks a day, compared with about 2,000 a month earlier.
• Officials cite the grain export season, war-driven rerouting of trade and more Ukrainian transit.
• Moldova and Romania have both added staff, and Moldovan customs say they are working at full capacity.

Traffic up by half in a month

Moldovan customs officers now process roughly 3,000 trucks every 24 hours, compared with about 2,000 a month earlier (На КПП Молдови та Румунії збільшились черги вантажівок, зокрема через експорт з України – org.ua) (На границе Молдовы и Румынии выросли очереди, в том числе из-за экспорта из Украины – my.ua) (На молдовсько-румунському кордоні збільшились черги, зокрема через експорт з України – Українська правда). Photos of long lines of vehicles have been circulating on social media. Moldova's Customs Service estimates that pressure on border infrastructure has risen by about 50% over the last month (Truck queues grow at Moldova-Romania border amid rising exports from Ukraine – ukragroconsult.com). The increase has been recorded at the main crossings used for road freight heading to EU countries.

Why the lines are longer

Moldovan customs representatives link the queues to three factors: the seasonal grain export campaign, a rerouting of trade flows because of the war in Ukraine, and more transit of Ukrainian goods through Moldova. Military risks and restrictions on traditional export routes have pushed Ukrainian companies to rely more on alternative overland corridors. Seasonal shipments of agricultural products, grain in particular, add to the load.

Response at the border

The Moldovan customs service says it is working at full capacity and has increased staffing. Romania has taken similar steps on its side.

Earlier steps by Chisinau

Before the queues grew, Moldovan Prime Minister Vasile Tofan urged Ukrainian businesses to use Moldova's railway to send goods to Romania. Moldova has also said it is ready to extend joint border control to two more crossing points on its frontier with Ukraine.

Traffic figures

• Trucks cleared per day a month ago: about 2,000
• Trucks cleared per day now: about 3,000
• Rise in pressure on border infrastructure over the month, per Moldova's Customs Service: about 50%