As one of the fastest growing economies in the developing world, Vietnam is a vibrant country undergoing improvement of its infrastructure to aid its future growth plans.

Over the last twenty years, Vietnam has been undergoing a transformation from a centrally planned economy to a market economy and over that time, Vietnam has experienced significant growth.

This is good news for the international freight transport sector and shipping companies involved in trade with Vietnam as their business will grow at the same time as the Vietnam economy. In 2009, export turnovers were over 56 billion US dollars, according to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam.This reflected a decline of approximately 10% from the previous year.

Vietnam’s single largest export is crude oil, which accounted for 11% of earnings from exports in 2009.

Vietnam’s other main exports part from crude oil are textiles, footwear and garments, rice, coffee, rubber and coal. Aquaculture is also an important source of export business as well as processed forest products.

At present, the exports from Vietnam are dominated by agricultural products but this is all set to change as Vietnam increases its industrial base. Already, 5% of earnings are accounted for by electronic equipment. As the country continues to develop its industrial base, the freight services infrastructure will continue to develop to support it. The main markets for exports from Vietnam are the United States, accounting for nearly 20% of exports, followed by Japan, China, Australia and Singapore.

Economic relations between Vietnam and the United States are improving but impeded by Vietnam’s record in human rights. Nevertheless, there have been great strides forwards in economic relations over the last decade and this is reflected in the current level of freight transport. A landmark bilateral agreement in December 2001 significantly boosted the level of Vietnam’s exports to the United States.

The most important imports to Vietnam are commodities, including petroleum products, steel, fertilizer, electronics, machinery and equipment. Most imports come from China, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia.

Overall, the main trading partners of Vietnam are currently Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan and the European Union. At present trade with the Asian economies makes up 80% of all Vietnam trade. This actually represents a changed picture as up until 1990, most Vietnam trade was with the Soviet Union.

Vietnam is currently keen to develop more trade with countries in the European Union and freight services companies are making this easier, as freight companies increase their own expertise in the Vietnam market. There are now many shipping companies that can help businesses in the European Union trade with Vietnam. The diverse nature of the above examples of imports and exports to and from Vietnam stresses how versatile the freight services companies operating in Vietnam need to be in order to service this market. A shipping company or freight company that is familiar with exporting from Vietnam will be expert at providing the correct transportation mode to ensure that the products arrive at their destination market in peak condition and within as short a time frame as possible. The freight forwarding market in Vietnam has developed considerably in recent years and the standard of freight services available is very high.

Most businesses in Vietnam are small and medium sized enterprises and in attempting to embrace the opportunities of globalisation, many turn to freight companies for advice and support. So the freight forwarding sector is itself an important catalyst in the growth of the Vietnam economy.

For example, UK importers usually handle all import procedures on the part of the client. This is particularly important for the small Vietnam company that is looking to enter worldwide markets.

It is now expected that the Vietnam economy will continue to expand as it reaches out to new markets around the globe and the international freight and freight forwarding sector will play its part in fuelling that growth.

Author Bio: Stephen Willis is Managing Director of RW Freight Services a UK based freight transport company, established in 1971 and operating worldwide freight forwarding services including specialist freight services to and from Vietnam

Category: Business
Keywords: Freight services,shipping companies,international freight, freight transport, freight forwarding