Logistics is one of the three critical stages that play a vital role in the supply chain of import and export activities, alongside production and market development. Vietnam possesses all the advantages necessary to drive the development of logistics
On October 19th, speaking at the "Logistics Vietnam: Transformation and Development" forum, Mr. Phan Van Chinh, the Director-General of the Import-Export Department at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, stated that logistics activities in Vietnam have made significant progress, and the trade volume has increased rapidly.
Specifically, in the first 9 months of 2022, the total import-export turnover reached USD 557.93 billion. Among this, exports reached USD 282.35 billion, a growth of 17.2%, while imports reached USD 275.58 billion, a growth of 12.8%. Importantly, the trade surplus in the first 9 months of the year reached USD 6.77 billion, with a significant contribution from logistics.
"When compared to some countries in the region like Malaysia, the Philippines... the capacity and ability of Vietnamese businesses in import-export activities are very strong," affirmed Mr. Chinh.
According to the Agility 2022 ranking, the Vietnamese logistics market is ranked 11th among the top 50 emerging logistics markets globally, thanks to the strong transformation of logistics service providers and users.
The growth rate for the period 2022-2030 in the Vietnamese logistics market is forecasted to be 5.5%. Foreign investors also see Vietnam as having many opportunities for logistics services development.
Mr. Chih Cheung from SLP Vietnam Company believes that Vietnam currently possesses all the advantages needed to boost logistics development, including a young population of approximately 100 million people, stable government support policies, extensive trade agreements with other countries, and favorable trends in production, export, and domestic consumption.
The Vietnamese logistics market currently includes more than 5,000 enterprises, with 89% being small and medium-sized Vietnamese businesses, and 10% being joint ventures. Despite comprising only 1%, 100% foreign-owned enterprises provide nationwide logistics services, featuring some of the world's largest logistics names.
According to Mr. Le Duy Hiep, Chairman of the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA), the Fourth Industrial Revolution has brought about many specialized service offerings. The competition in the logistics service market in Vietnam and globally has intensified as e-commerce has developed significantly with advanced logistics services such as E-logistics and Green logistics. This has led to relatively high service costs for Vietnamese logistics companies.
Agility's 2021 report revealed that Vietnam's logistics costs account for over 20% of GDP, while the average logistics cost worldwide is approximately 11% of GDP.
Ms. Le Thi Ngoc Diep, Director of Trade at SLP Vietnam Company, points out that the current infrastructure bottleneck, including airports, seaports, and warehouses, has not been standardized and is dispersed. Particularly, the planning of warehouse systems has disparities between the North and South regions, leading to limitations in nationwide cargo transportation.
Mr. Le Trong Hieu, Senior Director at CBRE Vietnam, believes that to ride the logistics wave effectively, it is important to develop and utilize warehouses efficiently, accelerate order processing, and reduce costs.
Mr. Hieu assesses that e-commerce penetration in Vietnam is still relatively low. Over the next 3 years, Vietnam's e-commerce growth is predicted to increase by 15-20%, or even 50%. Therefore, the location of warehouses is a factor that can optimize the delivery of goods to customers.
In reality, major players in the e-commerce sector in Vietnam are racing to invest in modernizing their supply chain logistics services. Mr. Vu Duc Thinh, CEO of Logistics at Lazada Vietnam, mentioned that Lazada has made significant investments in building a logistics 4.0 platform and identified logistics as one of its competitive advantages in the e-commerce market.
Cre: Goverment News
