HCMC – A number of Vietnamese export companies said many shrimp batches exported to the Australian market had waited up to seven weeks for customs clearance, forcing exporters to cope with extra costs.
The situation has been attributed to the shortage of personnel in Australia, it was announced at a meeting in Can Tho City on August 2, attended by enterprises trading agro-forestry-fishery products between Vietnam and Australia.
Lieu Kim Thuy, in charge of sales at Minh Phu Group in Australia and New Zealand, said its shrimp shipments to Australia were growing. The first seven months of 2022 saw its export sales there reaching US$50 million, which took a whole year to reach in 2021.
However, due to the lack of personnel on the Australian side, Vietnamese exporters are facing customs clearance delays there, which result in an additional storage fee which account for 10% of a shipment value, Thuy said.
Sarah Hooper, Australian Consul General in HCMC, said she would report it to the Australian agencies to help facilitate the smooth flow of goods between Vietnam and Australia.
In 2021, Vietnam became Australia’s 10th largest trading partner, and Australia was also Vietnam’s major trading partner.
Vu Thanh Liem, deputy director of the Department of International Cooperation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said he expected Australia to open more doors for Vietnamese export items such as dragon fruit, passion fruit and pomelo.
Last year, Vietnam exported agro-products worth some US$700 million to the Australian market, while importing some US$1.7 billion from the nation.
