HANOI: Pakistan has allowed nearly 500 containers of Vietnamese tea stuck at Karachi Port to be re-exported, providing a vital breakthrough for exporters as the Ministry of Industry and Trade said on Wednesday (Dec 31).
Specifically, the Pakistan Ministry of Commerce granted an exemption from the current transit ban and approved the re-export of Vietnam’s tea containers to other seaports, following requests from affected businesses and logistics firms.
The decision provides an important legal basis for releasing the shipments, which helps reduce storage costs, preserve product quality and ensure cash flow.
This also underscores the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s efforts to protect the legitimate rights of exporters and tea growers in the context of unpredictable and volatile global trade and regional logistics.
The ministry said it would continue to closely watch the re-export process and cooperate with relevant authorities in both countries to assist firms in completing necessary procedures, as well as promote market risk warnings so exporters can better prepare their export plans.
According to reports from Vietnam’s Trade Office in Pakistan, these tea containers were stranded at Karachi Port due to the disruption of overland transport between Pakistan and Afghanistan, as Pakistan has imposed new controls on transit transportation.
Most shipments were contracted for export to Afghanistan with transhipment through Karachi Port.
Pakistani authorities estimated that around 11,000 containers of transit goods bound for Afghanistan are stuck at the port, along with some 25,000 containers of imported goods and 15,000 containers of export cargo awaiting clearance.
The congestion was also worsened by the temporary halt of operations by Pakistani transport associations in protest against new policies on penalties for vehicles and drivers. — Vietnam News/ANN
