Emirates SkyCargo signs MOU with Ho Chi Minh City trade agency

In another sign of the rising influence of the Southeast Asian air cargo market, Dubai-based Emirates SkyCargo signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the ITPC, Ho Chi Minh City’s government agency that specializes in investment and trade, to “jointly explore opportunities to promote trade to and from Vietnam” and boost trade links out of the hub.

Emirates, which has been operating flights to Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi since 2008, said that, during its fiscal year of 2017-18, ended March 31, it transported about 50,000 tonnes of Vietnamese exports and imports – an increase of about 66 percent compared to the same period the previous year. The carrier currently operates five freighter flights per week out of Vietnam, which are filled with mainly perishables and electronics.

During 2017, Emirates SkyCargo supported a near fivefold increase in the volume of produce, such as rambutans and lychees, from Vietnam to Dubai, working in cooperation with Vietrade, a dedicated trade promoting agency of Vietnam. The new MOU will likely be a further expansion of such services.

Demand for capacity to and from Vietnam may continue to rise in coming years, as demand for e-commerce blooms in the region, inciting airlines like AirBridgeCargo and logistics companies, like DHL, to invest in services in the country. The latter expanded its same-day delivery services to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi earlier this year, later citing that Ho Chi Minh City will become the second-fastest-growing Asian economy by 2021 and predicting annual economic growth of 8 percent.