Road freight forwarders buy licenses from the black market

Moldovan cargo transporters engaged in road shipment have to buy authorizations for transporting cargo to third countries from the black market. They claim that responsibility for this situation lies with officials from the Moldovan Agency of International Road Carriers (AMTAI), and the Ministry of Transport and Road Management (MTGD) This statement belongs to Fiodor Ghelici, head of the “Moldova Mea” Association, and shared at a press conference on Tuesday, October 31. Fiodor Ghelici declared that it is nearly impossible to obtain the mentioned licenses from AMTAI, although their price is ranging from EUR 10 to 30, and some of them can be issued free of charge. Having these conditions, freight forwarders have to by their licenses on the black market paying a multiplied sum. The price of licenses for Russia, for example, is of EUR 800 to 1000 on the black market. Thus, the transportation of goods during autumn, the most favorable period for exports, is one step away of being hindered, and the transporters remain practically out of income because of the enormous sums they have to pay in order to get licenses. Ghelici also declared that he tried to find out from MTGD why the license issuance process is sabotaged, and that officials justified the situation by the existence of “tensioned relations” with neighbor states, especially, with Belarus. According to Ghelici, sources from the Embassy of Belarus in Chisinau declared that this country offers the number of licenses which is solicited, saying that, actually, Moldovan authorities should check the internal procedures of according licenses. According to the diplomatic mission, Belarus is the only CIS country which keeps “the gates wide open” for the import of Moldovan wines. In turn, Chisinau impose barriers for Belarusian companies which intend to keep economic relations with Moldova, for instance, the “arranged” tenders for procuring autobuses and trolleybuses, when Chisinau rejected a twice cheaper Belarusian offer, the cited source said. Iurie Iutchis, representative of an international road transportation company, attending the press conference, declared that in order to reduce the cost of transportation, which is unreasonably increasing because of the licenses bought on the black market, road transporters do not have the possibility to feed their families, have to sleep in vehicles, and lack elementary hygiene conditions. According to his words, some companies receive 50 to 100 licenses, which are unofficially sold later. Moreover, although, as a rule, the license should include the number plates of the vehicle, the papers sold on the black market are left with these lines blank, so that customers can fill in the numbers by themselves. According to the cited sources, more than 90% of the freight transportation from Moldova to other countries is covered by the road transportation.