New Logistics Solutions Aiding Vietnam’s Fruit Shipments to China

In an effort to facilitate Vietnam’s booming exports of fresh fruit to China, the logistics sector has recently come up with a number of new transportation strategies and routes. Not long ago, Vietnam Railways launched its first refrigerated train from Song Than to Dong Dang, heading from south to north toward the border with China, while JD Airlines operated its first cargo flight between Shenzhen and Ho Chi Minh City.

Last month, Railway Transport and Trading Joint Stock Company (Ratraco), a subsidiary of Vietnam Railways Corporation, ran its first agricultural train, transporting fresh fruit and seafood from Vietnam’s southern regions to Dong Dang station, which is a few kilometers from the border with China’s Guangxi province. The train was carrying a total of 900 metric tons of fresh products in 21 refrigerated containers, which were then further distributed by road and rail throughout China.

According to a Ratraco representative, the Vietnamese railway sector has recently seen a spike in demand for refrigerated containers. Renting reefers from China turned out to be the best way to address the needs of exporters and facilitate shipments, particularly those along the Song Than–Dong Dang route. Additionally, a special export/import program has been developed for this route, in which the train first transports fresh goods from Song Than to China and then, loaded with Chinese fresh fruit such as grapes, as well as fresh garlic, returns to Song Than from Lao Cai station, near the border with China’s Yunnan province.

Furthermore, JD Airlines, the air cargo unit of JD.com, announced on Sept. 19 that it had successfully completed its first round-trip flight between Shenzhen and Ho Chi Minh City. According to the company’s corporate blog, “The route is optimized to primarily transport cross-border e-commerce parcels from China to Vietnam, while also facilitating the shipment of key agricultural exports—such as fruit and seafood—from Vietnam to China.” The new route will be operated three times per week in collaboration with the airline service company CSAA.

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