Shipping costs gone down to pre-pandemic level
After skyrocketing to a historic level during the pandemic, sea transport prices have steadily gone down to almost pre-pandemic level with a large number of containers available as freighters making generous offers to exporters.
This year, however, has seen demand plummet in most major markets even with Christmas and New Year approaching due to consumers being forced to cut spending and inflation. This has translated in fewer orders of goods, sending freighters into a scramble to find exporters.
According to a report by the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Vietnam's export in the month of September decreased significantly, bringing sea transport costs to a new low. Particularly, the shipping cost to the EU has dropped as low as $900, a 50 per cent decrease from the beginning of the year.
Nguyễn Đình Tùng, CEO of Vina T&T Group, said shipping cost has come down to near pre-pandemic level.
In addition, slow sales resulted in a high inventory level and fewer new orders from retailers, especially for high-end commodities. That's not to say everyone was affected equally, he said, exporters of basic commodities should be doing quite well as demand for their goods largely remained unchanged while shipping costs went down.
Phan Minh Thông, chairman of Phúc Sinh JSC., a Vietnamese food exporter company, said his company's shipping cost has gone down to the pre-pandemic level after shooting up almost tenfold during the pandemic.
