Immediately upon receiving information regarding 58 export containers stuck in Nepal and India, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh signed a letter to the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies of Nepal in order to request support for Vietnamese businesses.

The Asia-Africa Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) stated  that the Vietnamese side also held a series of online meetings with their counterparts in Nepal in an effort to devise solutions aimed at resolving challenges faced by Vietnamese firms. 

If Nepal is unable to import pepper, then it is deemed necessary to create conditions in which Vietnamese enterprises can re-export their consignment.

According to the MoIT, Vietnamese firms will be offered support by the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies of Nepal in accordance with the law. 

Moreover, in order to provide maximum aid for enterprises, the MoIT in co-ordination with the Vietnam Trade Office in India, concurrently in Nepal, carried on taking part in meetings with the association and pepper importers based in Nepal. This was done in an effort to persuade them to co-ordinate and agree to sign applications for Vietnamese firms to re-export the shipment.

At present, the MoIT is working alongside the Nepal Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies in a bid to ensure that the shipment is re-exported following all necessary paperwork being completed in order to meet the requirements set out by Nepal.

In relation to the case, the MoIT recommends that local enterprises involved in export activities, especially import-export enterprises with South Asian countries, such as India and Nepal, should come up with measures to mitigate risks.

With regard to the case, the Nepal Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies issued a decision on March 25 to suspend the import of pepper, HS code: 09041100. Despite coming into effect on April 6, the decision only allowed the clearance of pepper consignments imported into Nepal which had received a Letter of Credit (L/C) declaration before March 29.

In line with the measures applied by the Nepalese Government, all firms trying to export goods to Nepal must have an L/C opened before March 29, whilst also wanting to re-export their shipments from Nepal, where they are required to have an application for re-export from Nepali importers.

Despite this, the contracts of 13 Vietnamese enterprises mostly did not open an L/C. Furthermore, over the past two months since Nepal stopped its import of pepper, Nepalese importers have displayed no signs of co-operation, offered no documents, and not signed for Vietnamese enterprises to complete their re-export procedures.

This makes it extremely difficult for Vietnamese enterprises to re-export their consignments as had been anticipated. Only in early July a few Nepalese importers had agreed to sign an application for re-export and provide re-export documents.