Forty-five provinces and centrally-run cities have issued logistics service development plans up to this point, while 47 provinces and cities have reported on the implementation of logistics activities over the last year.

Nine provinces and cities have held conferences to promote investment and develop provincial logistics services, and five provinces and cities have organised logistics knowledge training for local officials.

The Agency of Foreign Trade (AFT) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) held a meeting with municipal and provincial departments of industry and trade concerning State management of the logistics sector in Hanoi last week.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, AFT Director Nguyen Anh Son said that with a special geopolitical location in a dynamic development area of the world, along with increasingly deep integration with the global economy, Vietnam's growth rate of import-export and e-commerce was always in the double digits.

Vietnam was becoming an attractive destination for logistics activities in the Asia-Pacific region, added Son.

The World Bank’s report published last year showed that Vietnam ranked 43rd in the logistics efficiency index ranking, in the top five of ASEAN after Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, and the same position as the Philippines.

Along with that, the average annual growth rate of Vietnam's logistics was from 14 – 16%, making an important contribution in bringing Vietnam's total export and import turnover to 638 billion USD last year.

Vietnam’s logistics services not only contributed significantly to the country's economic development but also played an important role in creating an effective transportation network, connecting domestic trade with international markets, he said.

Sharing at the meeting, Vu Bich Hao, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, emphasised that logistics services in the province were quite perse, including transportation, warehousing and other support services.

The province currently has a total of more than 300 businesses providing goods transportation services and logistics warehousing services, according to the official.

Regarding seaport logistics infrastructure, Ba Ria - Vung Tau has 69 planned ports. Of which, there are 50 projects in operation with a total wharf length of 17,735 metres and a total design capacity of 180 million tonnes per year; and eight container ports with capacity of 8.3 million TEUs per year.

Cai Mep – Thi Vai Port cluster is the main port cluster of Ba Ria - Vung Tau seaport. There are currently 24 projects in operation with wharf length of 10,988 metres and total design capacity of 155 million tonnes per year.

It had the potential to be an important gateway not only for Vietnam but also for Southeast Asia, said Hao.

To improve competitiveness and develop the logistics industry, she proposed the MoIT continue to improve policies and laws on logistics services; especially detailed guidance on State management in the field of logistics to serve as a legal basis for localities to deploy and implement./.