HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Inadequate transportinfrastructure and connectivity, and domestic enterprises’ low capacity andslow technology adoption and digital transformation are hindering the otherwiserapidly growing logistics industry, experts have said.

The industry has grown rapidly along with the economy, trade,manufacturing, and e-commerce.

The logistics industry is growing at an average of 14-16% a yearand worth 40-42 billion USD a year, said Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of theMinistry of Industry and Trade’s Agency of Foreign Trade.

Transport infrastructure has received large investments in recentyears, with new seaports and airports being built.

But the development has not been in lock step and so failed tomeet the growing demands of the logistics industry, Hai told a roundtable in HoChi Minh City on August 10.

A large number of businesses are involved in logistics, but mostof them are small or medium-sized with limited capital, information technologyapplication, digital transformation, and human resources. This has led to highcosts, he said.

Dang Vu Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Logistics BusinessAssociation, said the industry has yet to fully tap its potential.

He pointed out that the poor transport infrastructure andconnectivity between seaports, airports, warehouses, and industrial parks arehampering the development of the industry.

Logistics costs are equivalent to around 18% of GDP, much higherthan in other countries, he said.

The high logistic costs reduce the competitiveness of thecountry’s exports and economy, and lowering them is a pressing concern, headded.

Mike Bhaskaran, group chief operating officer for digitaltechnology at DP World, said to help businesses improve their tradecapacity and support the development of logistics businesses, Vietnam needs toincrease its visibility and transparency through promoting the development ofthe Internet of Things and GPS tracking system and improve its ability topredict market trends.

On the business side, it must transform management technology toenhance automation, reduce delivery times and improve internal supply to reducelogistics costs, he added.

The roundtable was held on the sidelines of the inaugural VietnamInternational Logistics Exhibition that opened at the Saigon Exhibition andConvention Center on August 10./.