Exporters lament lack of vessel space for shipments

MANILA, Philippines — Over 80 percent of exporting firms cannot ship out their products due to lack of vessel space, according to a survey of the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport).

Philexport, said 80 out of nearly 100 companies, or 81.6 percent of the survey respondents, reported that while they have products ready to be shipped out, they were unable to do so as there was no available vessel space.

Among these firms is an exporter of banana chips, virgin coconut oil, coco flour and similar products, shipping out about 500 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers to Asia and the Americas every month.

Also affected is a ceramics company exporting about 30 forty foot equivalent units of decorative earthenware to the US and Europe per month.

Others waiting to ship out products include a freight forwarder of decorative items, furniture, handicrafts and dried foodstuff exporting 100 TEUs each month to Europe, the US, United Kingdom, Australia, China and the United Arab Emirates, and a company engaged in the export of 40 high-cube containers of holiday decor, tabletops, dolls, and giftware per week to the US, Europe and Oceania.

“With our huge export market in these regions, it is reasonable to foresee that the export industry will incur huge losses if this issue goes unresolved,” Philexport said.

Bulk or 90 percent of the respondents cited lack of space in international shipping lines among the top shipping challenges they face.

Other challenges cited are higher freight rates (56.3 percent) and lack of containers (45 percent).

Philexport said an earlier survey covering 65 respondents showed similar results, with pending cargoes including processed food, furniture, housewares and activated carbon now at 30,000 TEUs.

“As quarantine guidelines are eased globally and vaccination programs are successfully implemented, we project this volume will double or even triple, sizable enough for shipping lines to take notice,” Philexport president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said.

The survey was conducted by Philexport as part of an initiative with the Export Development Council (EDC) and logistics solutions provider Royal Cargo to find ways to address logistics and supply chains issues.

Philexport said Enrico Basilio, chair of the EDC Networking Committee on Transport and Logistics has called on the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) to encourage domestic shipping lines to have regional operations.

It also recommended that MARINA facilitate the issuance of a certificate of public convenience so domestic ships may proceed to offer regional service.

Philexport assistant vice president Ma. Flordeliza Leong said the group has committed to identify the routes to be prioritized by domestic vessels.

Royal Cargo chief executive officer Michael Kurt Raeuber, meanwhile, has agreed to help address the space shortage by using its ships to transport export cargoes to ports of destination in the region.