Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese exportersare recommended to gear up and act flexible with response measures in the face oftransport disruption in the Red Sea.

Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director ofthe Foreign Trade Agency at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), said theRed Sea tension could raise the shipping cost for one cargo container destinedfor Europe by 1,000-2,000 USD, and the commodities hit hardest includetextiles-garments, footwear, wood products, and electronic devices.

Therefore, the businesses exporting goodsvia long routes need to take timely response measures to avoid losses, he said.

To protect their interests, the MoIT has urged business and logisticsassociations to keep a closer watch on the situation so that their members stayupdated with new developments to ready production, export, and import plans toavoid adverse impacts.

Exporters and importers were alsorecommended to discuss with partners to extend goods preparation anddelivery time if necessary, diversify supply sources to minimise the impact onsupply chains, and consider rail transport to have different transportation choices,Hai noted.

In particular, the MoIT advisedbusinesses to include articles about compensation and liability exemption inemergency cases when negotiating and signing trade and transport contracts. They were also advised to buyinsurance in anticipation of risks and losses during prolonged transportationor unexpected incidents, and ready different transportation plans, the officialadded.

Echoing the view, the Vietnam Logistics Business Association said exportersshould diversify means of transport in the short term, and that it will helpbusinesses update information and work with other parties in supply chains.

The association also recommendedcompanies include compensation clauses in trade and transport contracts and buyinsurance. In addition, they should also diversify material suppliers to avoiddisruptions to production that may lead to delivery delays.

According tosome exporters, a number of shipping companies have announced higher costs forgoods transportation to the US, the EU, and other countries applied from January2024, citing the reason that the Red Sea tension has affected the safety ofmany shipping routes and forced them to divert routes, which has subsequentlyled to longer delivery time and higher expenses.

Large shipping firms like YangMing Line, One, Evergreen Line, HMM, and Maersk have informed exporters aboutadditional charges as they have to divert Asia-Europe routes away from the Red Sea and the Suez Canal./.