Faced with the situation of nearly 500 containers of tea of Vietnamese enterprises being congested and congested at Karachi Port (Pakistan), causing great damage to export enterprises and directly affecting domestic tea growers, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has been synchronously implementing many drastic measures to support enterprises, urgently removing difficulties.
Immediately after receiving urgent recommendations from the Vietnam Tea Association and exporting enterprises, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has closely directed relevant units, assigned the Department of Foreign Market Development and the Import-Export Department to closely coordinate with Vietnam Trade in Pakistan to grasp the situation, clarify the causes and propose solutions.
According to the report of the Vietnamese Commercial Association in Pakistan and the Vietnamese Embassy in Pakistan, the main cause of the current congestion is the disruption of road transportation between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in the context of Pakistan applying new control measures for transit transportation, while most of the Vietnamese tea shipments are signed export contracts to Afghanistan via transit in Karachi.
Notably, congestion at Karachi Port not only occurs with Vietnamese goods but is force majeure and widespread, seriously affecting both import-export and transit activities of Pakistan itself.
According to updated information from Pakistan, currently at Karachi Port, there are about 11,000 containers of goods transit to Afghanistan stuck; about 25,000 containers of imported goods and 15,000 containers of exported goods from Pakistan have not been released, due to the suspension of Pakistan transportation associations in protest of new policies related to fines for vehicles and drivers, causing the domestic supply chain of Pakistan to seriously stagnate.
The prolonged congestion has caused Vietnamese tea exporting enterprises to bear huge costs for container storage and storage, which poses a risk of reduced goods quality, seriously affecting cash flow, bank repayment capacity and livelihoods of tea growers.
To protect the legitimate interests of Vietnamese enterprises, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has directed Vietnamese Commerce in Pakistan to proactively and continuously work with Pakistan's authorities, including port authorities, customs and related focal points, and requested Pakistan to consider special measures to remove obstacles for Vietnamese tea.
At the same time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Vietnamese Embassy in Pakistan to send an official dispatch to the Pakistani authorities, requesting to create favorable and flexible conditions for handling Vietnamese tea shipments that are at a standstill, in the spirit of the friendship and economic - trade cooperation between the two countries.
Resolution options that Vietnam is actively discussing with Pakistan include:
Allowing the transition of tea containers stuck at Karachi port to Afghanistan when security and transportation conditions allow;
In case it is not possible to continue, consider allowing re-export to a third market;
The final option is to allow re- import of goods to Vietnam to minimize damage to businesses.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue to closely monitor the situation, work regularly with Pakistan, direct the dealership to update daily developments and proactively propose the most appropriate and feasible solutions to protect the legitimate rights of Vietnamese enterprises.
At the same time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade recommends that tea exporting enterprises:
Proactively coordinate closely with the Vietnam Tea and Vietnamese Trading Association in Pakistan, providing complete documents and certificates related to the shipment.
Proactively review contract terms, alternative logistics plans and financial capacity to work with state management agencies to choose the optimal handling plan.
In the coming time, strengthen market risk assessment, diversify transportation routes and delivery conditions, limit dependence on high-risk transit routes.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade emphasized that supporting the removal of obstacles for export goods, especially key agricultural products such as tea, is always a high priority; The Ministry will continue to be proactive and resolutely work with relevant partners to soon release goods, minimizing damage to businesses and farmers.
