This year, the rise in international logistics prices has dampened international trade and exerted some impact on the logistics industry in Pakistan. Some logistics companies, however, have made progress and even found opportunities in the midst of the crisis.
“Since the beginning of this year, the high sea freight has raised the threshold of traditional B2B international trade, which has raised the requirements of participants’ economic strength and operation capacity. ” said Tim Yao, chairman of Captain Express Pakistan Pvt Ltd (CPEX for short and the brand also), a subsidy of Captain International Express (Hk) Co Ltd. In view of the situation, CPEX arranges overseas warehouses in Pakistan to help reduce the financial pressure and trade risks of both sides.
“Through our development of ERP logistics systems, self-chartered flights and warehousing services, we can control the quality of the whole end-to-end service and provide a price 15%-20% lower than the market.” Tim Yao added.
“Snowball effect plays an important role internationally. High logistics prices are driven by international crude diesel prices which take a heavy toll on logistics providers around the world, ” said Ali Awan, CEO of Shelozon Movers, Packers and Logistics. “With geographical importance and as a key player in CPEC, Pakistan can increase its share by providing logistics to Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asian Republic, who are all landlocked.” He suggested.
Ali Awan’s viewpoint echoes Li Yiman, general manager of Zhejiang Eman Supply Chain Management Company, and Pakistan’s honorable investment councillor. “As the flagship project of CPEC, Gwadar Port is one of the programs that China attaches great importance to, and it indeed brings convenience to Pakistan and its neighboring countries. Because Gwadar port is still in trial operation at present, we are making some general planning now. For example, we are planning the entrepot logistics route involving Afghanistan, and seeking solutions to potential problems in this route. We will make efforts in maximizing the advantages of Gwadar Port.”
“The logistics route to Afghanistan is very lucrative.” Ali Awan stressed. “Afghanistan is a landlocked country, which provides big opportunities for logistics cooperation. The most viable route is through Pakistan. We provided logistics services to Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade (APTT) from 2009-2011. Now as Gwadar Port is operational, there can be unlimited benefits. Bringing Afghanistan into CPEC can be a very beneficial opportunity for Pak-China cooperation.”
“Afghan transit cargo has started being processed through Gwadar port since January 14, 2020. LPG ships and bulk cargo vessels can be seen coming frequently,” noted Zhang Baozhong, chairman of China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC). “According to our plan, Gwadar will become the logistics hub in this region within 5 years! ”
