The challenges are greater for firms that often need a large number of employees, such as those in the garment industry, the footwear industry, and services
Mekong Delta: Logistics problems hamper agri exports
As the Vietnamese Mekong Delta does not have enough deep-water ports or warehousing, transport costs have been surging, which in turn caused agriculture product competitivity to drop.
Mekong Delta contributes 90 percent of the country’s rice exports, 65 percent of seafood exports, and 70 percent of fruit exports.
It has a total seven ports, of which the largest is Long An International Port in southern Long An Province. The latter can accommodate cargo ships with a capacity of 70,000 tons. The second largest is Cai Cui Port in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, which can handle 20,000 ton cargo vessels. It also has 57 inland waterway ports.
Poor logistics hinder Mekong Delta agri exports
By Cuu Long April 10, 2021 | 05:58 pm GMT+7
Cai Cui Port in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho. Photo by VnExpress/Cuu Long.
A lack of deep-water ports and warehousing has seen transport costs surge and Mekong Delta agriculture product competitivity drop, experts have said. Logistic costs accounts for 30 percent of product price, which is an unreasonably high proportion. In Thailand the figure is 12.5 percent, and the average global figure, 14 percent. This hinders Mekong Delta agriculture products from competing with equivalents from Thailand and China, said Pham Tien Hoai, chairman of Hau Giang Business Association.