Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport has proposed a 10 percent increase in container handling fees at Vietnam’s ports, according to Vietnam News. Key industry groups, however, requested an increase of about 15 to 20 percent per year back in March. These groups claim that Vietnam’s seaports are running at a collective loss of US$1 billion a year as a result of government regulated prices.
Why it matters: Seaports can’t run at losses forever and sooner or later prices will either have to rise dramatically or seaports will have to go bankrupt. Either way it will likely be problematic for importers and exports.