05/06/2022
According to research by the World Bank, the Mekong Delta has a need to transport import and export goods of about 18 million tons/year. With the annual value of import and export goods reaching more than 31 billion USD, agricultural exports account for 75%, the rest are other industrial products. From the data on the volume and value of export, import and intra-regional consumption, it shows that there is a huge need for transporting goods to the region.
However, only 20% of goods are transported through the region's seaport system, the rest 80% are transported by road, mainly to ports in Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria-Vung Tau. In contrast, all products imported from abroad are also transported from Ho Chi Minh City to the provinces. On the other hand, over 85% of ports and wharves of seaports in the Mekong Delta are very small, mainly serving the needs of bulk cargo handling, and there is a lack of specialized ports for containers.
From the above fact, logistics costs in the Mekong Delta region are the highest, accounting for 30% of product costs. Especially, agricultural enterprises are self-sufficient, providing logistics infrastructure for their products. This increases costs for businesses, reduces the competitiveness of agricultural products in this region in particular and Vietnamese agricultural products in general.
At the seminar "Improving the competitiveness of enterprises in the Mekong Delta from a logistics perspective" held recently, Mr. Truong Dinh Hoe, General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers Vietnamese Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said that transporting goods from the Mekong Delta region causes time delays and costs for businesses, because the characteristics of seafood export are that all goods need to be frozen. Instant shipping, shorten the time as much as possible, less transit, ensure the temperature of the container.
Logistics in agriculture is understood as a series of activities: goods storage, packaging, warehousing, customs clearance, goods rotation,... for the purpose of transferring agricultural products from farmers, suppliers to domestic and foreign consumers in the fastest and most effective way. However, the annual economic report of the Mekong Delta in 2020 analyzed the competitiveness of enterprises in the rice, seafood and fruit industries through the cluster diagram, showing that they share a common weakness is logistics.
According to Mr. Nguyen Phuong Lam, Director of the Confederation of Trade and Industry of Can Tho (VCCI Can Tho), as the largest granary of rice, agricultural products and fishery in the country, the Mekong Delta region is forming modern specialized cold storages to serve the needs of preserving strong products here. Up to now, the Mekong Delta region owns about 30% of the cold storage in the southern region, mainly distributed in Long An, Can Tho and Hau Giang.
Although the cold storage system is invested by many businesses, in general, logistics in the Mekong Delta is still very poor, not meeting the needs of development. Currently, the Mekong Delta does not have a true logistics center, just warehouses for gathering goods, cold & cool storages for lease of investment enterprises. The second-class logistics center in Can Tho city has been approved by the Prime Minister but has not been deployed so far, making logistics enterprises not have favorable conditions to participate in investment and infrastructure development which are currently facing difficulties. difficulties in the past.
VASEP President, Mr.Truong Dinh Hoe said that the current big desire of seafood enterprises is to transport export goods conveniently, reduce costs, and reduce transportation time. Mr. Nguyen Phuong Lam said: "According to enterprises, farmers and production cooperatives in the Mekong Delta, if the warehouse system, especially cold and cool storage is invested, farmers will boldly plant more, businesses purchasing and storing stably the amount of export goods, regulating prices, helping agricultural products to be consumed more stably".
At the forum on completing the logistics service chain for agricultural products in the Mekong Delta on May 26, Mr.Nguyen Thanh Phong, Deputy Head of the Central Economic Commission said that developing a logistics system for agricultural products in the Mekong Delta is an urgent solution today to improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese agricultural products in general and the sustainable development of agricultural products in the Mekong Delta in particular, contributing to promoting regional economic development.
U&I Logistics
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