Vietnamese ports suffered single losses, double losses

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Vietnam Maritime Agents and Brokers Association (VISABA) has sent an official letter to the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Transport (MOT), the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vietnam Maritime Administration proposing the adjustment of the framework. container loading and unloading service prices at seaports zone 1 (excluding Lach Huyen port area) increased by 10% per year for 3 consecutive years from July 1, 2021; In Lach Huyen and Cai Mep – Thi Vai deep sea ports, container loading and unloading fees will increase by at least 20% compared to the minimum level specified in Circular 54 from 1 July 2021 and the schedule to increase by 10% for the next 3 years. to 2023.

Youth There was an interview with Mr. Nhu Dinh Thien (photo), Deputy General Secretary of VISABA, around this.

* VISABA’s recommendations that the current loading and unloading fees of Vietnamese seaports are too low compared to other countries. However, the proposal to increase THC charges at this time has an impact on the cost of enterprise Export and import of goods through seaports?

– Absolutely not because the loading and unloading price is included in the freight that the shipping company has collected from the business very high up to now, but the payment for seaport services is very low due to our very low controlled rates. For example, foreign shipping companies are collecting from Vietnamese import-export customers with loading and unloading fees of 114 – 173 USD / container (depending on 20 feet or 40 feet), equal in the region. However, at Vietnamese seaports, foreign shipping companies are paying ports a minimum fee of 33 USD / teu (20 feet) in Dinh Vu area, 52 USD / teu in Cai area. Mep and 41 USD / teu in HCMC area. Only the difference between the actually collected from customers and actually paid to the port of foreign shipping lines is very large from 68 to 87 USD / teu. If we don’t change it, every year we lose billions of dollars to foreign shipping lines. They are benefiting greatly from our national resources. In addition, the current price bracket for loading and unloading at Vietnamese seaports is lower than the river port in Cambodia, at least 52 – 77 USD / cont., The draft amendment to Circular 54 is expected to increase by 57 – 85 USD / cont., VISABA’s proposal is 62.4 – 92.4 USD / cont. This fee at the port of Singapore is 111 – 159 USD / cont., Hong Kong is 130 – 197 USD / cont., China is 97 – 149 USD / cont., Myanmar 165 – 330 USD / cont., Indonesia 92 – 148 USD / cont. and Cambodia 65 – 99 USD / cont … THC fee is only a very small service fee on shore in the package of shipping lines collected from businesses, in Vietnam, shipping lines also collect customers fees for seals, vouchers, electricity for delivery. , surcharge for sulfur reduction, fuel surcharge, container balancing fee, equipment balancing fee …

In fact, the business results of the shipping lines in the year Covid-19 were still much larger than those in the previous year. The government’s adjustment to increase the minimum tariff for THC will create conditions for Vietnamese ports to have sufficient resources, boldly invest, reinvest, improve competitiveness and quality of logistics services to deserve. with national limited resource value.

* Why in the proposal, the association divided the rate of 10% increase with the port area 1 and 20% this year with 2 deep-water ports Lach Huyen and Cai Mep – Thi Vai?

VISABA proposes to adjust the price bracket for container loading and unloading service at seaports zone 1 (excluding the Lach Huyen port area) by 10% per year for 3 consecutive years from 1.7.2021; In Lach Huyen and Cai Mep – Thi Vai deep sea ports, container loading and unloading fees will increase by at least 20% compared to the minimum level specified in Circular 54 from 1 July 2021 and the schedule to increase by 10% for the next 3 years. to 2023. Previously, the draft Circular 54 introduced a 10% increase in this year 2021 and another 10% increase in 2023.

– This depends on the capacity used at the ports. Currently, ports in zone 1 (excluding the Lach Huyen port area) only reach 60-70% of available capacity while the two deep-water ports are far exceeding their actual capacity by 15%. Particularly in Cai Mep area with 4 ports of TCIT, TCTT, CMIT and SSIT, in 2020, the exploiting capacity will all increase, from 6-22%.

In fact, the adjustment of THC charges does not increase significantly compared to sea transport, which increased like a storm in the past year, from 1,500 to 2,000 USD / cont. to 8,000 – 10,000 USD / cont., compared with a series of other fees and benefits of shipping lines as well as the difference in loading and unloading prices of Vietnamese ports compared to other countries. The loading and unloading fees at seaports of other countries are always higher than those of Vietnam while the scale of investment and services is on a par. Therefore, all changes in fees are also aiming to get closer to the rates of other countries. It should be noted, loading and unloading surcharge applied in Vietnam from January 1, 2007 with the rate 50 – 75 USD / cont. After 14 years, shipping lines increased by 2.5 times, while our own tariff regulations are decreasing… 30-40%. With such regulations, shipping lines are paying Vietnamese ports only 30-45% of the rate they collect from customers. Port operators often joke that THC fees do not have the concept of inflation, even after 14 years it still plummets.

* The business results of the world’s major shipping lines in the first quarter increased dramatically, even with shipping lines increasing 26 times. So, businesses operating in seaports are sure to be “fragrant” from the huge profits of shipping lines?

– At first glance, it sounds related, but our THC tariff is built and managed according to the model of “stable prices”, the minimum and maximum rates that most ports charge according to the minimum rate imposed by the Ministry of Transport. . As I mentioned above, our THC fees have not only not increased, but have decreased by 30-40% compared to 14 years ago. Currently, the profit margin of Vietnamese seaport enterprises compared to some listed port companies in the region is also much lower. According to Bloomberg News announced at the end of April, the average profit margin of Vietnamese port enterprises reached 34.4% while the regional average was 58.1%.

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