Many criminal
groups in cahoots with container truck drivers in Vietnam are stealing parts of
the cargo during transportation, businesses say.
The practice
started at least in 2007 and has inflicted heavy losses and earned
Vietnam's export sector a bad name, but businesses are keeping
silent to protect their names.
As export
values have increased this year, so has the crime.
A representative
from D.N.F Company in the southern province of Dong Nai said that the company
in June exported 700 barrels of cashew to India, but when the cargo arrived
this month, its partner sent a complaint that nearly 600 barrels, worth more
than US$102,000, were missing from the container.
“The thing is,
the seal on the container is undamaged, and the loss was only discovered when
the cargo was opened,” the representative said.
Statistics from
Vietnam Cashew Association (VINACAS) show that container thieves since 2007
have caused losses worth nearly $2 million.
This does not
include small cases not reported by the businesses that didn’t want their
prestige hurt.
Nguyen Duc
Thanh, Vice Chairman of the association, said that material imports have also
been stolen.
A couple of
cases have been busted by the authorities recently but they were just the tip
of the iceberg, he said.
Vu Thai Son,
president of a cashew firm, said that his company late last year exported two
containers of cashews to Thailand but the cargo disappeared upon
arrival, and the container seals were still there.
Until now, the
company has not found out who stole its cargo, Son said.
The cargo
transport firm uses GPS and thus has detected that the truck carrying the
containers stopped for a long time at a place in District 12, HCMC, where the
driver is suspected to have the cargo taken out of the containers.
But the driver,
who had used a fake resume, had quit his job after the robbery.
“To keep our
business prestige, we had to compensate our customers with nearly
$130,000,” Son said.
Many businesses
have tried to prevent the thieves by having special guards
accompany the containers all the way.
VINACAS recently
sent a statement asking its members to hire people to follow the containers
from their factories to the ports and to sign transport contracts only with
reliable firms who agree to compensate if the cargo is lost.
Rubber, seafood
and coffee exporters are also victims of the container robbers.
The head of a
rubber company in the central region, who did not want to be named, said that
more than half the rubber export shipments are "touched" by the
robbers, but there’s nothing the businesses can do.
“Anyway, if we
make a fuss, the name of our companies would be affected, so we just keep
silent.”
A statement from
Vietnam Rubber Association said that the thieves have deployed clever and
complicated ways, and the prestige of transportation companies has also
been affected.
The victims of
container thieves have also blamed a number of businesses in their own industry
that are willing to buy the stolen cargo at cheap prices.
According to the
victims, the thieves tend to steal a big amount of the cargo at a time and they
have no way to consume it except for selling it to firms engaged in the same
business.
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment