Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, Secretary-General of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, recounts the story of Chile, a country located very far from China, with a shipping distance equivalent to that from Vietnam to the United States, which is nearly half the circumference of the Earth. However, this country successfully exports many types of fruits and vegetables to China by sea.
Looking at the miracle of Chile
According to Mr. Nguyen, with a sea transportation time of 30-40 days, some types of Chilean fruits (such as cherries, cherries, pears, kiwis, etc.) remain fresh when they reach China. In terms of exports, Chile currently ranks second after Thailand among the top countries exporting fruits and vegetables to China (Vietnam is currently ranked third).
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To penetrate deeper into the Chinese market, it is advisable to "wing" logistics to further enhance the completeness, as well as improve the capacity of multi-modal transportation. |
From the miracle of Chile, the General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association raised the question of why they, being so far away, could achieve such success while Vietnam, being close to China, lags behind?
"Here it should also be noted that the technology for preserving fruits and vegetables in Vietnam is still not good (as Chile can preserve cherries for 60 days, which is a long time to sell and has captured the Chinese market) and, more importantly, the issue of improving logistics infrastructure needs to be addressed further," Mr. Nguyen emphasized.
In exchanges with VnBusiness, many business owners in the agricultural sector in the southern provinces stated that diversifying the methods of transporting goods, such as transporting by rail to China, is something that businesses really need. This helps them reduce transportation costs, shorten delivery times, ensure the safety of goods, limit damage, and adhere to the transportation schedule. Another important benefit is that agricultural exports transported by rail will go directly through the border.
Some businesses mentioned that if it were possible to connect the entire southwestern provinces, southeastern provinces, and the Central Highlands by rail for exporting agricultural products to China, it would bring significant benefits, reducing the load and being more efficient than by road. The key is the cost and quality of the rail transport route.
According to experts, promoting the transportation of agricultural exports to China by rail is something that should be done soon. The cost of transporting goods by rail is low because the freight rates for this form of delivery are less affected by the usual market price fluctuations. Thus, even if the petroleum market undergoes many changes, the cost of rail transport is rarely affected. Therefore, sending agricultural products by rail usually ensures quite good cost efficiency for businesses.
Source: vnbusiness.vn
