Strong increase in transit goods to Russia via Finland
The volume is up more than 30 percent since last year, but there is still a long way from the peak before the economical crises.
According to the foreign trade statistics published by Finnish Customs, the shipments of cars and vans from Europe to Russia via Finland almost doubled in July-September. Almost 56,000 cars were transported to Russia.
Finland’s main border-crossing points to Russia are Imatra, Vaalimaa and Nuijamaa, on the roads between Helsinki and St. Petersburg.
The Finnish road authority has online web-cameras from both border crossing points from where the public can see the current traffic and possible queues.
Two years ago, the queues of lorries and trucks could be several kilometre long, but nowadays such long waiting queues less frequent, according to the overview published on the road administrations designated web portal for the Russian-Finnish borders in the south. But, for instance last Sunday, the queue at Vaalimaa border crossing point was 8 kilometre long.
Read also: Border station upgrade to put end to queues
It is not only European car-makers that use Finland as transit for entering the Russian market. Also, the transportation of beverages, sugar, cocoa, chocolate and sweets have increased sharply over the last year, according to the overview from Finnish Customs.
The estimated value of goods transported through Finland to Russia has a value of almost € 4.5 billion in the third quarter of 2010.
In 2009 passed a total of 309,000 trucks Finland’s border crossing points to Russia.
