Promoting logistics cooperation, bringing Vietnamese goods "straight" to the EU market

Great potential for cooperation in the field of logistics between Vietnam and Slovenia

According to data from the General Department of Customs, the two-way import-export turnover of goods between Vietnam and the EU in the first 6 months of 2024 reached nearly 32.39 billion USD, an increase of 13.5% compared to the first 6 months of 2023.

Strengthening cooperation in the field of logistics will help increase Vietnamese exports to the EU market.

Of which, exports to the EU increased by 15.4%, reaching over 24.69 billion USD, imports increased by 7.7%, reaching over 7.69 billion USD. Thus, in the first 6 months of 2024, Vietnam's trade surplus with the EU was nearly 17 billion USD, an increase of 19.2% compared to the first 6 months of 2023.

To boost the import and export of goods to this market area, developing the logistics service industry is something that cannot be overlooked. Ms. Dinh Thi Hoang Yen - Head of the Vietnam Trade Office in the Austrian market, concurrently in Slovenia, informed that due to the geographical location and strategic development of Koper Port, Slovenia has emerged as a logistics center in the trans-European transport network. Koper Port is the largest seaport in Slovenia and one of the three major ports in the Adratic Sea region, along with Trieste Port of Italy and Rijeka Port of Croatia, connecting to the Mediterranean Sea and through the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal.

On December 22, 2022, the Slovenian port of Koper became the first port in the Northern Adriatic with a capacity exceeding one million TEU containers per year, and by the end of December 2024, another 10,000 containers will be added, increasing Koper's total throughput by 150% compared to the previous year.

The Port of Koper wants to reach two million TEU containers within the next 10 years by expanding the port access road and the freight railway terminal for ships from 500m to 750m. Currently, 55% of goods move from the port by truck and only 45% by rail. The Slovenian Minister of Infrastructure believes that the record turnover of more than 300 million euros, 23 million tons and 800,000 vehicles in one year of the Port of Koper, especially during the economic and energy crisis, makes it the most important car port in the Mediterranean.

Ms. Dinh Thi Hoang Yen said that in October 2023, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien chaired the 3rd meeting of the Vietnam-Slovenia Intergovernmental Committee on Economic Cooperation in the capital of Ljubljana, Slovenia. On this occasion, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien visited and worked with Koper port. The Slovenian side expressed its desire to create a direct connection between Vietnamese seaports and Slovenia's Koper port, one of the ports with a strategic geographical location, a leading logistics center in Europe in general and the Adriatic region in particular.

"Through this connection, with its strengths in seaports and logistics, Slovenia can become a closer, faster and more cost-effective bridge for Vietnamese goods to penetrate the EU market, especially Eastern and Central European countries," said Ms. Dinh Thi Hoang Yen.

Previously, in November 2023, Vinfast Group signed a cooperation MOU with Koper Port to prepare for the import of Vinfast electric cars to Europe. In September 2024, Slovenia will send a logistics business delegation to Vietnam to develop business relationships with international transport and logistics companies based in Vietnam, companies in the industry, and stakeholders. At the same time, introduce comprehensive supply chain solutions (ports, customs, maritime, and road transport to destination) for goods exported from Vietnam to Central and Eastern European markets and goods imported from Central and Eastern European markets to Vietnam; resume the direct shipping route from Ho Chi Minh City to Koper that existed before the Covid-19 pandemic.

On this occasion, the Trade Promotion Agency - Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and the Investment Promotion Agency (Spirit Slovenia) under the Ministry of Economy of Slovenia will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation between the two agencies to support trade and investment promotion between the two countries. This is an important basis for developing regional logistics services.

Removing difficulties due to lack of containers

Although the conflict in the Red Sea and the shortage of empty containers in China have recently pushed up sea freight costs significantly, Vietnamese logistics enterprises still need to calculate the option of transporting goods to Europe via the port of Koper in Slovenia to save time and costs compared to the maritime route via Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Hamburg in Germany. In addition, learn about the characteristics and regulations on importing into the EU through this gateway, creating conditions for Vietnamese goods to be exported to the market, taking advantage of the incentives brought by the EVFTA Agreement.

Ms. Dinh Thi Hoang Yen also suggested that businesses can cooperate with Koper port to build a logistics center with a cold storage system to preserve fresh export products such as fruits and seafood from Vietnam. In the context that many European countries do not have direct flights and the shipping costs are expensive, choosing sea transport will be an optimal solution for the economic problem of Vietnamese goods entering the EU.

In addition, businesses can also build e-commerce platforms in major EU markets to aggregate orders, facilitate international transactions, and reduce shipping costs for Vietnamese businesses.

Slovenia is a traditional friend of Vietnam in the Central Eastern Europe region. Vietnam is a leading important partner of Slovenia in the ASEAN region and can become a gateway for Slovenian enterprises to access the ASEAN market as well as the Asia-Pacific region - markets with which Vietnam has signed free trade agreements FTA.

Since the EVFTA officially came into effect in 2020, Vietnam's trade with Slovenia has always achieved high growth. However, both sides frankly said that although bilateral economic and trade cooperation has achieved positive developments in recent times, it is still not commensurate with the potential, needs, and good cooperative relations between the two countries.

2024 marks the 30th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Slovenia (June 7, 1994). The two governments have held many activities to celebrate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations, such as a political consultation in March 2024, a visit by Ms. Renta Ccelbar Bek, Ambassador, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs of Slovenia, and the Slovenian Ambassador to China and concurrently to Vietnam to Vietnam from June 18-19, 2024, the appointment of Honorary Consul and the opening of the Consulate Office of the Republic of Slovenia in Ho Chi Minh City. It is expected that by the end of 2024, the Ministry of Culture will send Vietnamese films to Slovenia for screening.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/day-manh-hop-tac-logistics-dua-hang-viet-thang-tien-thi-truong-eu-333616.html