Freight traffic through Serbia was severely disrupted when Hungary and Croatia closed their borders last month to cope with tens of thousands of migrants, most bound for richer nations further north.

The clampdown hit not just Serbian and Croatian trucks but also cargo in transit from other countries to the south, including Macedonia, Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria.

Aleksandar Momcilovic drives a truck carrying sunflower meal and soy meal from Serbia to Italy. Usually it takes eight hours to reach Italy, his final destination near Genoa.

But last week he spent almost three days at the border between Serbia and Croatia. His company may have to pay a penalty for not delivering on time:

“Who is going to pay for that?”