“In fact, the situation is more or less the same. The trucks are being diverted for detailed checks both at internal and border customs offices,” Gytis Vincevičius, Linava spokesman, told BNS.
The restrictions had affected the revenues of Lithuania’s freight companies, he said adding that the haulers were losing their market position.
“It will soon be a month since the introduction of restrictions. In fact it’s very problematic for haulers and they are losing their market share as the consigners are instructed not to use Lithuanian trucks for shipping. The losses are difficult to estimate precisely yet the turnover of some companies has declined by up to 40 percent,” he said.
The haulers mentioned last week that thorough checks might have been extended until October 7. Previously they expected tightened checks to be stopped on September 30.
Russia stepped up customs checks on Lithuanian goods in mid-September in a measure that was slammed by both Vilnius and Brussels officials. The haulers earlier estimated that they might have suffered around 10 million euros in losses in a couple of weeks.
