On September 5, it became known that Riga and Vilnius are discussing a ban on the transit of Russian grain through their ports. Exporters urgently rerouted cargo there after the closure of southern terminals, and now this backup route may be shut down by a political decision. On the same day, the government signed a decree reserving land for over 70 new transport infrastructure facilities, and at the Eastern Economic Forum, an agreement was signed on a corridor to Magadan worth 1.13 trillion rubles. Some plans are designed for years ahead, while another corridor may close as early as next week, which sums up the contrast across this week's news.
Latvia and Lithuania decide the fate of the Baltic grain corridor
On September 5, TASS reported a Reuters release. Latvia and Lithuania are considering halting the transit of Russian grain through their ports. Riga planned to discuss a complete ban on these routes back on September 4. Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius explained that using Lithuanian infrastructure for Russian grain contradicts the country's values. At the same time, he added that potential restrictions would not affect transit between the Kaliningrad region and the rest of Russia.
The ban is not being discussed in a vacuum. Following attacks on southern ports, exporters began redirecting grain to the Baltic more actively, and the Baltic route turned from a backup into an operational option over recent weeks. Now that same corridor may be closed by a political decision before it even becomes fully operational. Where to direct these volumes if both the south and the Baltic backup become unavailable is up to the reader to decide. This week's news does not offer a single alternative route.
Who is unaffected this week
If your cargo is already moving through the Far East or via overland transit, the Baltic news will not affect your route, and there is no need to reconfigure logistics due to Latvian-Lithuanian discussions. For now, it concerns only grain transit, so container and general cargo carriers remain unaffected as well. However, the growth of trade with China and the government's long-term infrastructure program may interest a broader audience, even if you do not ship grain or operate on the eastern route today.
The East is already growing without declarations
While the Baltic route remains uncertain, the Far East reports solid figures. The Vladivostok Commercial Sea Port (VMTP), part of the FESCO Group, handled over 84.5 thousand TEU in August. This is the port's best monthly result in history, exceeding the previous record of 83.7 thousand TEU set in December 2024, PortNews and InfraNews reported on September 1. Container throughput has stayed above 80 thousand TEU for three consecutive months, and for January–August, the port handled 594.6 thousand TEU, up 11% year-on-year; imports grew by almost a quarter. The port attributes this growth to the realignment of foreign trade routes.
The China route is growing not only through Vladivostok. On September 1, Presidential Aide Nikolai Patrushev noted at a meeting on navigation in the Amur Basin that transshipment in river ports of the basin increased by 39% following the 2025 navigation season, reaching approximately 4 million tons, while almost 700 thousand tons of grain, machinery, equipment, spare parts, and consumer goods passed through international checkpoints. This is the same topic of the week reflected in two sets of figures. At the Second Russian-Chinese Forum in Khabarovsk, held on September 4–6, Deputy Minister of Transport Dmitry Zverev cited maritime data. Cargo turnover between Russian and Chinese ports in the first half of 2026 reached 109 million tons, up almost 20% year-on-year, TKS.RU reported on September 7. The China route is expanding simultaneously by sea and by land, outpacing all other foreign trade freight flows in the country.
RZD increased loading in August, but won't vouch for the full year
Loading on the RZD rail network in August amounted to 93 million tons, up 0.9% year-on-year, Interfax reported on September 1. Freight turnover increased by 2.4% to 207.5 billion tariff ton-km, with coal (+5.2%) and grain (+26.8%) cited as primary growth drivers. Growth in an individual month, however, does not guarantee growth for the full year.
On September 3, on the sidelines of the EEF, RZD head Oleg Belozerov noted: “Everything the economy presents to us, we will haul. Therefore, the main question regarding future volumes is how much the economy will present,‘TASS reported his words. For the full year 2026, loading may turn out slightly lower than last year, the head of RZD admits. The bottleneck here lies not in RZD's carrying capacity, but in how much freight will actually enter the market before year-end.
What is being laid out for years ahead
While the current season is shaped by sudden strikes and breaking updates, infrastructure is being planned at the federal level for decades ahead. On September 5, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree expanding the spatial planning scheme for federal transport and highways. Over 70 new facilities were included, the government reported. The list comprises railway, air, maritime, and inland waterway transport projects. These include the modernization of the BAM and Trans-Siberian railways, development of transport hubs in the Central Region, Saint Petersburg, Perm, and Murmansk, grain terminals in Makhachkala and Novorossiysk, container facilities in Vladivostok and Nakhodka, and reconstruction of airports, including Sheremetyevo and Kazan International Airport, as detailed by Kommersant. The spatial planning scheme reserves land for future construction, but in itself does not guarantee project completion dates.
On September 2, another long-term project was signed at the same forum: the Mohe–Naiba international transport corridor, extending to Magadan, will link Northeast China with the Arctic coast, Interfax and InfraNews reported. The project combines a joint border crossing with China, the Naiba deep-water port, and the Nizhny Bestyakh–Naiba railway line stretching about 1.3 thousand km, plus a line to Magadan of another 1.67 thousand km. The budget stands at 1.13 trillion rubles without federal funding, backed by the VIS Group. The estimated capacity of the Mohe–Naiba border crossing itself is 2 million tons per year, while the entire corridor, including domestic and international traffic, is designed to handle up to 30 million tons. Nearly 3,000 km of tracks and a brand-new port take years to build.
Long-term plans also cover the Northern Sea Route (NSR). Rosatom head Alexey Likhachev stated in an interview with Expert magazine that freight traffic along the NSR in 2026 will grow by about 14% year-on-year. For two consecutive years, it has held at a record high of over 37 million tons, and a 14% increase in 2026 will set a new record, Interfax and PRIME reported on September 1. According to Likhachev, cargo traffic could reach 110–150 million tons by 2035, and under favorable conditions and the redistribution of freight from northwestern routes, it could hit 200 million tons by 2040. Infrastructure, including the icebreaker fleet, needs to be built with a safety margin, as growing demand already outpaces the readiness of ports and icebreakers.
What to do with plans for September
Of the seven news items this week, only one demands immediate action. If grain export in your supply chain runs through the Baltic states, account for the risk that the corridor could close ahead of an official decision. Riga and Vilnius are discussing a ban right now, not just in theory. The rest can be considered signals for the future rather than a call to action today. The Far East and China routes are showing actual growth in figures, not promises, so it is wiser to secure reserve capacity for September there rather than waiting for 2035, when the Mohe–Naiba corridor, new spatial planning facilities, or the promised 200 million tons via the Northern Sea Route become a reality. As for RZD cargo, keeping track of Belozerov's statements is advisable, as the company itself is not confident about total volumes by year-end.