Pepper exporting enterprises call for help

According to the Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA), the reason comes from the Nepal government banning the import of 5 items, including pepper from April 6 (does not apply to shipments with certified credit. Payment guarantee opened before March 29). According to VPA, up to 58 containers (equivalent to 1,300 tons) of 13 Vietnamese pepper exporting enterprises are stuck at Birgunj port (Nepal) and Kolkata port (India) for 2-3 months. through customs clearance, it cannot be re-exported to Vietnam.

Ms. Tran Phuoc Hau, Deputy General Director of Tran Chau Import-Export Trading Services Joint Stock Company (HCMC), said her business has been doing business with Nepalese partner for many years and they are very prestigious. From February to March 25 (before the time of the ban in Nepal), the company exported 22 pepper containers worth more than 1 million USD to Nepal but was not paid by the importer because they did not have any. import license. We wanted to bring the goods back to minimize the damage, but we couldn’t. Obviously, in this case, the enterprise has no errors but suffers the consequences “- worried Ms. Hau.

According to Ms. Phung Thu Huyen, Director of Nam International Co., Ltd. – another company also in Ho Chi Minh City with goods stuck in Nepal, she has been unable to eat and sleep for many months. “We are in desperate need of the intervention of the state levels to rescue the trapped goods because exporters are burdened with a series of storage and storage costs. Now, if the goods are returned, the business will also suffer. damage up to 50% “- Ms. Huyen expressed.

Pepper harvest in Ia Ve commune, Chu Prong district, Gia Lai province. Photo: HOANG THANH

A representative of a company explained that when the container arrives at the port, the shipping company will let it lie for free from 7-10 days, then it will apply the increasing price list. The first week is 70 USD / day / container, the second week it is 100 USD and from the third week on, it is 170 USD. As calculated above, if the goods are stored for more than 3 months, the amount to be paid for 1 container is up to 16,000-17,000 USD. “This is too much money for businesses in the midst of difficult business, even in the past 2 months we have to owe wages to workers because we are already stuck in the money” – a representative of an urgent business.

Enterprises said that when the incident occurred, they contacted the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnamese Embassy in India, the International Pepper Association (IPC) and the VPA for assistance. The Ministry of Industry and Trade immediately sent a proposal to Nepal to clear the consignments or facilitate customs procedures for enterprises to re-export goods to Vietnam because the ban is not consistent with the free spirit. trade and also without prior notice to the parties involved. Meanwhile, IPC has cooperated with the Embassy, ​​VPA and exporters to send a letter requesting the governments of India and Nepal to assist in handling the shipments to be re-exported to Vietnam. At the same time, IPC also supports the request of shipping lines to consider cutting down on storage costs. However, almost a month has passed but the incident seems to have stalled.

Before the incident, Mr. Nguyen Nam Hai, VPA Chairman, proposed Vietnamese authorities to take measures for the Government of Nepal to re-export the 58 containers above. “Currently, the cost of storage and storage is up to 35% -40% of the value of the shipment. If the shipment remains stuck, the damage will be even greater. In the case of the re-export, VPA We want shipping lines related to 58 containers to share risks with exporters by reducing costs of storing and storing goods by 70% “- Mr. Hai proposed.

According to Mr. Hai, 13 enterprises whose consignments were stuck in Nepal are all small and medium enterprises, 3 million USD is a huge amount for them, especially in the difficult situation caused by Covid-19. “From the above incident, in order to avoid risks, exporting enterprises must learn about the regulations of the importing country from time to time, not only listen to the importer’s notice to avoid any damage” – Hai warned.