Cargo at Cat Lai port. Photo: VNA

According to information from the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA), this agency has just had a meeting with a representative of the World Bank (WB) in Vietnam to discuss issues about the current status of the logistics industry (transportation services). logistics), current difficulties in terms of costs, development planning and short-term prospects and long-term vision.

The report at the meeting showed that there are still many shortcomings in the field of logistics such as the planning of the logistics center which has not been implemented drastically. Factories, empty containers, and ports are scattered in different places, causing transportation costs to be inflated. Not only that, container parking lots near major ports are also not planned.

Specifically, the case of Cat Lai port is a typical example. According to a report by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), an average of 16,400 trucks arrive at Cai Lai port every day, but there is no parking space, making the roads close to the port always in poor condition. severe congestion.

Solving the problem of regional linkage and land planning needs the Government’s involvement. Because as noted, logistics businesses are in dire need of their own land funds to develop warehouses with reasonable prices. Even in some cases, renting land is always a problem because real estate agents always push the price of land too high.

Dorsati Madani, World Bank Senior Economist, said that in 2023, the growth of global goods trade is only a quarter of the forecast in June 2022 and the growth situation in 2024 is also forecast. is not very optimistic. In general, the economic situation will be bleak in the near future when indicators such as fixed income, retail sales are still trending down, and the unemployment rate increases, indicating an uncertain future and not certainty of the economy.

Based on the report on Vietnam’s export situation in the first half of 2023, it showed a decrease of about 12% year-on-year and imports fell more sharply by nearly 18% compared to the same period in 2022. Globally, financial mobilization conditions are weaker than expected, financial mobilization conditions globally continue to be tightened, and the monetary position gap between Vietnam and developed countries is also increasing.

In addition, the quality of Vietnam’s infrastructure is still lagging behind other countries in the region. This could affect the ability to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) capital as well as potential growth in the long term.

According to a survey by the World Economic Forum, although the quality of infrastructure is considered to have improved through the process of increasing investment, Vietnam is still behind other countries in the region. This survey ranks Vietnam 77th out of 141 economies in the world, lower than China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand - countries where Vietnam is competing for revenue. attract foreign direct investment.

The Global Infrastructure Quality Index 2021 ranks Vietnam 51st out of 184 economies, lower than Indonesia at 28th, Malaysia at 29th and Thailand at 33rd. Highway density is an example of this. infrastructure quality, currently among the lowest in the region, while trucking costs are among the highest in the region.

The lack of investment in infrastructure will limit Vietnam’s ability to attract and retain FDI investors. All these factors, of course, will be major barriers and challenges for the logistics industry in the near future.

Facing this situation, Mr. Le Duy Hiep, Chairman of the Association of Logistics Service Enterprises (VLA) expressed his expectation about the cooperation relationship and sharing of experiences from the World Bank in the coming time; especially the coordination in implementing the Vietnam Provincial Logistics Competitiveness Index (LCI) project.

Accordingly, the LCI index in provinces and cities will help plan policies to develop the logistics industry in localities, reduce logistics costs, and support production and export development and attract investment. more effective foreign investment in the near future.

The provincial LCI index shows the competitiveness of Vietnam’s logistics compared to other countries in the world. Accordingly, assessing indicators on infrastructure, technology into logistics and supply chain management, macroeconomic conditions, skills, product markets, labor market, financial system, etc. market size, dynamism in the business environment, innovation...

The project is currently being implemented and will announce the results by the end of this year 2023 with the participation of many interested organizations, state agencies and businesses. The project provides measurement indicators to help assess the development speed, quality, infrastructure, and policies of the governments of provinces and cities in Vietnam.

In particular, the project will bring a general picture of the logistics service business in the provinces and cities in Vietnam; LCI index will be an effective policy review tool to help state management agencies from central to local to make development policies, logistics planning suitable to the specific economic development of each locality. …/.