High transport costs hinder bilateral trade: Vietnamese businesses in UAE tell PM

Many of them have difficulty affording the high costs of shipping goods from Vietnam to the UAE, Huynh Bao Khuong, a representative of the Vietnamese community in UAE, told Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh during his visit to the country for the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

Freight from Vietnam to the UAE costs double that of Thailand-UAE, making it difficult for them to compete, he added.

Nguyen Duc Hoang, a businessman in the UAE, said the government should have policies to bring down freight by sea and air to improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese products.

He also urged the government of protect Vietnamese agricultural brands, saying many Thai companies import produce from Vietnam to sell to the UAE under their own names.

Vietnam's visa policies also pose a challenge to doing business and traveling, he added.

Chinh said the two side are negotiating a comprehensive economic partnership agreement, and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has promised there would be no restrictions on Vietnamese products.

Vietnam’s logistics infrastructure is less developed than that of other countries as a consequence of 40 years of war, but it has been speeding up work on it in recent years, he said.