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Tag: trade

Logistics Industry Support Third Runway at Heathrow

Posted on by Will Priestman

The UK government’s support for a third runway at Heathrow Airport has sparked discussions within the freight and logistics sector. Industry representatives emphasize the importance of expanding cargo capacity to meet growing trade demands. While acknowledging the benefits of increased airport capacity, stakeholders also highlight the need for strategic planning to ensure efficient cargo operations. Key industry figures from the British International Freight Association (BIFA) and FedEx Europe share their perspectives on the potential impact of the expansion on UK trade and supply chains.

Speaking on behalf of its members, Steve Parker, director general of the British International Freight Association (BIFA) said:
“The Government’s backing for a third runway at Heathrow is certainly of interest to BIFA members that offer international logistics services for cargoes moving by air,  and although our members will still be wondering when any spade will hit the ground, they are ready to work with the airport authority on streamlining and improving services.

“Whilst we wait for a third runway, BIFA will focus on the airport’s cargo development. And on behalf of our members, BIFA is already working closely with the airport to support its ambitious plans to deliver a fundamental change to the way cargo operates at the airport. The latest plans and software enhancements were revealed last October. These plans would mean a significant redevelopment of the cargo estate set to commence in the next two to three years, as the airport looks to accommodate rising demand, modernise some ageing first-line cargo handling facilities, and improve cargo flows and efficiency.”

Alun Cornish, Manager Director Ramp and Gateways at FedEx Europe, commented:
Expansion at Heathrow is a step in the right direction for UK growth. To fully realise its potential, it’s crucial that expansion plans include provisions for cargo growth alongside passenger flights. The ability to efficiently import and export goods is essential for UK economic growth, so it’s vital that cargo forms part of the UK’s future airport strategy.

Trade is a cornerstone of our economy, and our research last year revealed that the UK remains a leading exporter to both the EU and other global markets. Increased capacity in UK supply chains would be welcomed and would be a key enabler of the UK’s plans for growth.

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Global Supply Chains Forced to Change Rapidly

Which Countries Have Highest E-commerce Levels?

Posted on by Keith McKinley

It’s no secret that e-commerce has grown rapidly in recent years, helped along by global events, such as the Covid-19 pandemic which encouraged more consumers to shop online versus in physical stores.

With access to the internet being easier than ever before, the established global e-commerce network Ubuy wanted to know which are the ‘shopaholic’ countries – those which had seen the highest volume of online purchases.

In a new report analysing worldwide spending data, Ubuy compared the amount spent per country in relation to each country’s average annual income and population. Those that had spent the most money in relation to their annual income were deemed the most ‘shopaholics’.

Ubuy’s research found that, globally, around $3,913,058.90 is recorded in e-commerce spending annually. Using the most recent world population figures (7,888,408,686 people), Ubuy calculated that this is equivalent to $496 spent per capita – approximately 5.7% of an average income ($8,742) on e-commerce alone.

In first place was Lebanon, recording an annual e-commerce revenue of $3,269. While this may not seem like a large number, this is equal to $585 per capita with a population of 5,592,631 people. The average household income for Lebanese people is $$4,323 per year, making the amount spent on e-commerce equate to around 13.5% – a significant amount.

In contrast, China recorded a massive $1,240,968 per year in e-commerce revenue. This was equivalent to $879 per capita for China’s population of 1,412,360,000 people. In terms of household income, the average income was around $7,572 per year, with e-commerce spending equating to 11.6% of their income annually.

The research found that, overall, the majority of countries had recorded relatively large volumes of e-commerce revenue – a testament to how much e-commerce has grown in recent years.

Commenting on the research, Faizan Khan at Ubuy said: “Our research revealed which countries have recorded the highest proportional volume of e-commerce revenue annually, in relation to the average household income for each country.

“It’s interesting to see that many countries actually spend more of their annual income on e-commerce than the global average, highlighting how prominent this spending platform is in many people’s lives.

“As a well-established e-commerce platform ourselves, we’ve seen first-hand that online spending has grown massively in popularity in recent years, particularly following the pandemic. However, it was interesting to break down the global data and see just how these spending trends have emerged in different countries.

“Most notably, our research also revealed that many of the countries that had the highest volume of ‘shopaholics’ were located in South Asia and the MENA region.”

Broken down by country, the top 10 ‘shopaholic’ countries were:

  • Lebanon – $3,269 per year, 13.5% of average income
  • China – $1,240,968 per year, 11.6% of average income
  • Iran – $15.878 per year, 10.3% of average income
  • Kyrgyzstan – $531 per year, 9.1% of average income
  • South Korea – $109,842 per year, 8.4% of average income
  • Sudan – $1,406 per year, 8% of average income
  • Moldova – $842 per year, 7.9% of average income
  • Mongolia – $761 per year, 7.5% of average income
  • United Kingdom – $176,444 per year, 7.2% of average income
  • Bhutan – $137 per year, 7.1% of average income

CLICK HERE to access the full research.

Netherlands tops DHL Globalisation Index

Posted on by David Priestman

DHL and New York University’s Stern School of Business have released the new DHL Global Connectedness Index 2022, an in-depth report on the state of globalisation and its prospects. Analysing data from 171 countries and territories, it reveals how flows of trade, people, capital, and information move around the world.

The report shows that international flows have been remarkably resilient in the face of recent shocks such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. After a slight decline in 2020, the composite DHL Global Connectedness Index rose back to above pre-pandemic levels in 2021. The currently available data points to a further increase in 2022, despite slower growth in some flows. International trade in goods was 10% above pre-pandemic levels in mid-2022. International travel remained 37% below 2019 levels in 2022, but doubled compared to 2021.

“The latest DHL Global Connectedness Index data clearly debunks the perception of globalisation going into reverse gear,” John Pearson, CEO of DHL Express, concludes. “Globalisation is not just a buzzword, it’s a powerful force that has transformed our world for the better. By breaking down barriers, opening up markets and creating opportunities, it has enabled individuals, businesses and entire nations to flourish and thrive like never before. As we continue to embrace globalisation, we can build a brighter future that benefits us all, creating a world that is more interconnected, more prosperous and more peaceful than ever before.”

US and China: Geopolitical rivalry frays connection

The DHL Global Connectedness Index provides evidence that the US and China are decoupling in many fields. Looking at 11 types of trade, capital, information, and people flows (such as merchandise exports, M&A transactions, and scientific research collaboration), the share of US flows with China declined for 8 out of 11 types since 2016. In the same period, the share of China’s flows with the US decreased for 7 out of 10 types with data available for China. Several of these were large declines. Nonetheless, the US and China are still linked by far greater flows than any other two countries that do not share a border. Furthermore, the data shows that, so far, the decoupling between these two countries has not led to a broader fragmentation of global flows between rival blocs of countries.

No evidence of trend towards regionalisation – globalisation has increased

Analyses in the DHL Global Connectedness Index also show that predictions of a shift from globalisation to regionalisation have not – at least yet – come to fruition. The average distance traversed by trade, capital, information, and people flows has increased over the past two decades, and trade flows even stretched out over longer distances during the Covid-19 pandemic. The only category that displays a clear recent shift toward regionalisation is people flows. This is due to the dramatic change in travel patterns during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It remains an open question whether trade patterns will become significantly more regionalised in the future,” says Steven Altman (pictured), Senior Research Scholar and Director of the DHL Initiative on Globalisation at NYU Stern’s Center for the Future of Management. “Many companies and governments are focused on nearshoring to regionalise supply chains, and there are substantial business benefits that can come from regionalisation. On the other hand, more than half of all trade already happens within regions, and the benefits of long-distance trade are still important, especially as inflation remains high, economic growth has slowed, and container shipping rates have come back down.”

Ranking of most globally connected countries

In the country ranking of the DHL Global Connectedness Index 2022, the Netherlands was again the most globally connected country. Singapore ranked second overall and first in terms of the size of international relative to domestic flows. The UK has the most globally distributed flows. Among the 55 most globally connected countries, there are representatives from every world region.

The DHL Global Connectedness Index

Published regularly since 2011, the renowned DHL Global Connectedness Index provides reliable findings on globalisation trends by analysing 13 types of international trade, people, capital, and information flows. The 2022 edition is based on over four million data points from 171 countries, accounting for 99.7% of the world’s gross domestic product and 96% of its population. A collection of 171 one-page country profiles provides concise summaries of individual countries’ globalisation patterns.

The report was commissioned by DHL and authored by Steven A. Altman and Caroline R. Bastian of New York University Stern School of Business.

Globalisation: Manufacturing Moves Closer to Home

Posted on by David Priestman

New research has revealed the emergence of major shifts in globalisation, as companies rush to move manufacturing closer to home to protect against supply chain disruptions while increasingly protectionist policies are breaking the world into trade blocs.

The latest Trade in Transition study, commissioned by DP World and led by Economist Impact, captured the perspectives of company leaders as they navigate the latest disruptions to global trade – from the conflict in Ukraine to inflation and extended covid-lockdown policies in some markets.

Its key finding is that 96% of companies confirmed they are making changes to their supply chains due to geopolitical events.

The change has been swift. In the space of just a year, the number of companies shifting their manufacturing and suppliers– either to their home markets or nearby – has doubled compared to 2021. This is driven mainly by efforts to reduce costs and the risk of disruption. But the shifts are not even. While 27% of companies said they were decreasing the length of their supply chains due to geopolitical events such as the war in Ukraine, another 33% plan to expand into more stable and transparent markets.

Inflation threat

The persistent threat of inflation was cited by 30% of the executives as having the most significant negative impact on trade over the next two years. Inflationary pressures are seen in input costs — from supply shortages – and transport, through high energy costs and shipping capacity constraints. In a scenario of monetary tightening, companies across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific anticipate exports to be 1% lower than under a business-as-usual situation due to decreasing production and demand.

If inflationary pressures continue, exports in the Middle East and South America are expected to be hardest hit, declining by 3.52% and 2.74% respectively. Only Africa is expected to see its exports rise by 0.26%.

A fragmenting world

The fragmentation of the world into trade blocs was also cited by 10% of respondents as limiting the growth of international trade. Beyond the war in Ukraine, US-China tensions and cyber warfare are preventing the efficient functioning of economies worldwide. This is leading to increasingly protectionist policies such as the US Infrastructure Bill and the CHIPS and Science Act, which aim to incentivise and prioritise US and North American manufacturing. Similar protectionist policies are popping up all over the world, leading to further fragmentation of the global trade system.

Businesses are finding ways to respond and grow. Altering supply chains either through diversification, regionalisation, or reshoring to build resilience is one response.

The global survey of 3,000 company executives found that companies in North America and Europe are most likely to outsource more than half of their services within their region. This is followed by 40% of companies in South America, 36% in the Middle East, 32% in Asia-Pacific and 18% in Africa, outsourcing within their regions.

The widespread and increasing adoption of technology is another way to build resilience into the supply chain. Some 35% of respondents said they were currently implementing Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to facilitate the tracking and monitoring of cargo, while another 32% of companies are adopting digital platforms to enable direct business with customers or suppliers.

Speaking at the launch of the report at the World Economic Forum in Davos today, DP World Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said:

“The report is tangible evidence of how globalisation is changing as companies are forced to adapt to new challenges. By bringing production closer to the final customer, firms can reduce the number of touch points involved in the supply chain and build greater resilience into the flow of cargo around the world. But the trade environment is always changing. The next challenge that will alter these trends is an economic slowdown looming over regional markets. Agility, real-time visibility and end-to-end supply chain capabilities will be critical to ensuring companies can continue to find new efficiencies in an increasingly challenging environment.”

John Ferguson, Practice Lead for New Globalisation at Economist Impact, added:

“The shift to regionalisation and reshoring has been sharp, but unsurprising given the triple threat of higher costs, increased risks and government incentives or requirements to do so. Furthermore, businesses in previous decades have only had to focus on the economic aspects of trade, being price, quality and delivery. Now they have to account for other non-economic factors such as resilience and sustainability. All of which is having a drastic shift in supply chains, which we are witnessing both in the survey results and global trade patterns shifts”.

$600m submitted on DP World Trade Finance platform

Posted on by David Priestman

Efforts to close the $1.7tn annual global trade finance gap are gaining traction, especially in the small-to-medium-enterprise (SME) sector, with DP World announcing that its platform has received requests for more than $600m in credit limits.

DP World Trade Finance offers businesses of every size a quick and simple route to secure the capital they need to trade in global markets. The aim is to bridge the $1.7tn of trade finance gap that exists, stemming from struggles that many business face in securing the upfront funds required to move cargo.

Since its launch in July 2021, DP World Trade Finance has generated over $600m in credit limit submissions by facilitating a streamlined connection between SMEs and financial institutions on its trade finance platform. The platform has registered over 56,000 global clients from more than 50 countries around the world to provide them with affordable access to trade finance.

The latest financial institution to join the platform is India Factoring and Finance Solutions Pvt. Ltd, a leading, independent provider of specialised trade finance products in India. The company will now be able to use the DP World Trade Finance platform to lend with confidence and help companies access the capital they need to trade efficiently.

Sinan Ozcan, Senior Executive Officer of DP World Financial Services, outlined the importance of Trade Finance in DP World’s efforts to enable world trade: “DP World’s extensive outreach to businesses across the globe, visibility on trade data and control over cargo help financiers connect with businesses, identify risks, build confidence and provide credit, while businesses gain access to affordable and innovative financing options to grow their business.

“So far, we’ve onboarded 20 financial institutions onto the platform, covering 80 countries total, and the registration process for new clients is less than five minutes. By enabling more business through finance, we can support growth and generate greater value for all of our partners and customers.”

Ravi Valecha, CEO of India Factoring and Finance Solutions Pvt. Ltd, said: “As a leader in worldwide smart end-to-end supply chain logistics, DP World handles over 10% of global container traffic and has terminals in countries across the world. Being part of trade finance is a natural extension for them and India Factoring and Finance Solutions Pvt. Ltd. is glad to be associated to be part of their cross border trade finance solutions – a natural extension as a leader in India’s cross border factoring space.”

Many SMEs have their finance applications rejected every year when they are unable to provide the credit history along with additional trade data that financiers routinely require for credit approvals. These are businesses who buy, sell, import and export goods around the world, meaning a vast amount of trade is being lost. Fundamentally, the level of access to trade finance is critical not only to the survival and growth of exporters, importers and logistics companies, but to the growth of economies as a whole.

DHL Trade Growth Atlas: Global trade surprisingly strong

Posted on by David Priestman

DHL and NYU Stern School of Business have published the new DHL Trade Growth Atlas, which maps the most important trends and prospects of global trade in goods. The report covers 173 countries, providing valuable business intelligence for policymakers and industry leaders. It shines a positive light on the resilience of global trade – despite recent shocks and market pessimism.

“Our aim is for the DHL Trade Growth Atlas to become a go-to resource for understanding and navigating shifts in the global trade landscape. Trade will remain a key driver of prosperity – as it has been for centuries. In the current global business environment, DHL can help customers rethink certain supply chains, basing them on a sensible trade-off between cost and risk so that they are both efficient and secure. As the world’s leading logistics provider, we offer solutions for all logistics requirements, and have proven to provide stable and reliable services even in volatile market environments,” says John Pearson, CEO of DHL Express. 

International trade is considered especially important in the present context because of its power to accelerate economic growth, reduce inflation, and enable countries and companies to access multiple sources of key inputs.

Key take-aways: growth, shifts, and opportunities

The DHL Trade Growth Atlas also measures changes in countries’ and regions’ shares of world trade. Among the key take-aways:

The Covid-19 pandemic has not been the major setback for global trade that many anticipated: International trade in goods has surged as high as 10% above pre-pandemic levels, even in the face of significant supply bottlenecks that constrained further growth.

Prospects for future trade growth remain surprisingly positive: Due to the war in Ukraine, trade growth forecasts have been downgraded, but they still call for trade to grow slightly faster in 2022 and 2023 than it did over the preceding decade.

E-commerce sales boomed during the pandemic and forecasts point to strong cross-border e-commerce growth continuing. New poles of trade growth are identified in Southeast and South Asia, and trade growth is expected to accelerate dramatically in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Trade growth is spread across a wider variety of countries: China accounted for a quarter of trade growth in recent years and is predicted to continue to have the largest growth, but its share is likely to fall by half, to 13%.

Viet Nam, India, and the Philippines stand out on both speed and scale of projected trade growth through 2026. All three have potential to benefit from efforts by many companies to diversify China-centric production and sourcing strategies.

While emerging economies increased their shares of world trade from 24 to 40% between 2000 and 2012, with half of the increase driven by China alone, these shares have barely changed over the past decade.

However, emerging economies continue to race forward on measures of connectivity, innovation, and leading companies. They are becoming more important exporters of sophisticated manufactured products, and increasingly compete not only on low costs, but also on innovation and quality.

Understanding global trade and its opportunities

The DHL Trade Growth Atlas examines global trade growth trends, geographic shifts, the mix of products traded, and broader changes in the business environment. It analyses trade in goods worldwide, by region, for advanced vs. emerging economies, and across 173 countries. The report features concise one-page summaries for each of these countries. The countries covered comprise more than 99% of world trade, GDP, and population.

“We have sought to distil the most important data on the state and trajectory of global trade and to bring the data to life in maps, charts, and other visual content. The results show how there are still large trade growth opportunities in both advanced and emerging economies and in regions around the world. The trade landscape is shifting and presenting new challenges, but this report strongly rebuts predictions of a major retreat from global trade,” says Steven Altman, Senior Research Scholar and Director of the DHL Initiative on Globalization at NYU Stern’s Center for the Future of Management.

The DHL Trade Growth Atlas complements the established DHL Global Connectedness Index series. While the DHL Trade Growth Atlas provides a special deep dive on global trade in goods, the DHL Global Connectedness Index, published regularly since 2011, analyses the broader phenomenon of globalisation – based on trade in goods and services, as well as worldwide flows of capital, people, and information. Both reports help pinpoint promising business opportunities, and support fact-based debates about trade and globalisation.

CLICK HERE to download a copy of the new DHL Trade Growth Atlas report.

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Slovakia: at the heart of Europe

Posted on by David Priestman

At the recent World of Freight Expo in Bratislava, Slovakia, Logistics Business met with Zulf Hyatt-Khan, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Slovak Exporters. We spoke to  the Briton about his role, his passion for Slovakian trade, and how he is helping exporters from the country to expand their horizons.

LB: Please tell us what point of difference the council provides to its members?

ZH-K: We go back to April 2020 when our Chairman, Lukáš Parízek, founded the Council of Slovak exporters. He saw that there was a huge gap for exporters during the pandemic – problems with freight, with logistics, with cargo getting through into other countries. Manpower was down, automation systems started to fail, and there needed to be an interlocuter, so he decided to take on the mantle of creating a hub whereby all export-related topics could be centralised, whether that’s information, news, interlocution with embassies, with customs, with logistics, with freight carriers… All those disparate elements could be housed under one roof.

As a member association, we respond to the demands and the needs of our members. Apart from our strategic partners, all of them are exporters and they had these queries which we are able to help them with. Lukáš is a former Foreign State Secretary, so he had a very good relationship with state institutions and embassies. We have a particularly close relationship with most of the ambassadors here in Slovakia. That provides a unique point of difference, because we are able to communicate on behalf of our members just to make sure that their issues are dealt with.

LB: Why should businesses come to you? What benefits do you bring to the table?

ZH-K: Slovakia has a lot of potential, but [our members have been] previously over reliant on a relationship with the EU and with Germany specifically. Their aspirations to take their products into a larger market have yet to be fulfilled. So they come to us, they see an international organisation representing Slovakia’s best interests, and we make sure they have the opportunity. For example, we facilitated 15 of our members going to Dubai Expo 2020. We are opening up channels for gateways to China, with Hong Kong Investment… We are doing deals with various international institutions, which didn’t really exist here, to safeguard the interests of our members in these foreign environments.

Also, there’s an element of teaching. We’re not there to patronise our members, but we try to tell them that there’s an opportunity to internationalise their products which also didn’t traditionally exist. It’s a learning curve for us as it is for them as well.

LB: What are the specific strengths of the Council?

ZH-K: We pride ourselves on a number of elements. Firstly, we conduct our own academic research. We’ve recently commissioned a non-government export analysis which was a complete drill down into the minutiae of Slovakia’s export potential and its five-year history. We did that here with the University of Economics in Bratislava (EUBA). We’ve also recently published ‘How to do Business in the UAE’ in line with that Dubai Expo participation.

The other thing is, we’re here to help promote our members’ interests abroad, essentially, without being partisan. We are a non-government member association, so we don’t promote any  one company, but at the same time we view the collective as stronger together.

Added to that, we do podcasts with our private sector CEOs and Champions, we have an international podcast that we host with ambassadors and international luminaries, so that our members can understand what it is like going into new territories. Whether they are looking to go into Kazakhstan or the United States, we speak to those honorary consuls, we speak to those ambassadors and they paint an investment picture.

We see that as a two-way benefit; every time a Slovak business wants to go into a new market, then trade will come back the other way. Export is a two-way road – it means export for someone and import for someone else. We see those relationships as critical for our members.

LB: Can we talk about Brexit – what is your opinion?

ZH-K: There was a line drawn in the sand – either you were in the camp on one side or camped on the other. I think the media frenzy that surrounded it exacerbated a lot of peoples’ sentiments. On one side, I’d like to say I’m a big believer in the European project, but on the other side I see the advantages to the UK of being able to negotiate its trade deals without… it’s a bit harsh to say the ‘handcuffs of the EU’, but some of the restrictions and regulations that were imposed.

What I don’t approve was the manner in which it was thrust upon the UK public and how divisive it was for everyone. I think it will normalise; my parents always say “Britain is a plucky island and will just plod on”. I think that’s pretty much the focus. We see today there’s no petrol in the cars, there’s a lack of lorry drivers. It’s certainly not fluid, it’s certainly not smooth and the transition will be ugly, but eventually it will regularise and normalise.

LB: Bratislava is a great city in a great location, but just over the border is Vienna. What does it mean to your members and how you can help them.

ZH-K: It’s a bit of doubler-edge sword, really, to be honest. The centrality of Vienna, Budapest and Prague has often left Bratislava a little bit behind. Also in terms of infrastructure and investment potential. Has it maximised its potential? I’m hosting a panel [at World of Freight Expo] with the CEO of Bratislava Airport who no doubt will give us some insight into just how much volume is going through those airports, but at the same time the interconnectivity through the Danube and through the region has huge advantages for road freight and, potentially, train freight.

But in terms of airports, traditionally it has been hampered, and we’d like to see with a little bit of investment and a little bit  more ambitious infrastructure that Bratislava becomes more competitive amongst its nearby cousins.

Logistics Business (LB): We can’t help noticing you have a perfect British accent – how did you end up here in Bratislava?

Zulh Hyatt-Khan (ZH-K): You’re not the first person to say that to me this week. Yes, I am from the UK, and having spent some time travelling the world I was most recently in the Middle East. I married a Slovak lady and moved here to Slovakia.

It wasn’t always on my agenda to move to central Europe; however, I saw the potential of central Europe and Slovakia in itself to develop through its private sector and through its export, and that’s why I’ve settled here.

LB: Thank you very much, Zulf, for speaking with us today.

Uzbekistan joins freight loyalty scheme as gateway

Posted on by David Priestman

In a boost to its global trade networks and partnerships, Uzbekistan has today joined the World Logistics Passport (WLP) as a Gateway. The signing event took place in Tashkent and was attended by H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy; H.E. Sardor Umurzakov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, Republic of Uzbekistan and Mahmood Ahmed Al Bastaki, Chief Operating Officer, DT World and General Manager of the WLP.

The WLP is a global, private sector-led initiative designed to smooth the flow of global trade, unlock market access and provide economic efficiencies to members. With its global presence, it is providing benefits to members such as priority handling and faster clearance – helping to reduce supply chain costs and increase trade volumes.

The WLP will bring increased traffic and revenues for Uzbekistani traders, will increase visibility of Uzbekistan to the WLP global network and will boost global connectivity. The Government of Uzbekistan will also be on hand to facilitate and support traders in Uzbekistan to register as WLP members.

With the World Bank predicting that the country’s economy will grow by 4.8% in 2021, this partnership is set to spur trade between Uzbekistan and the world. Uzbekistan is Central Asia’s largest consumer market, and a leading exporter of cherries, apricots, and carrots. With its growing economy driving domestic consumption complemented by demand for exports, the country’s trading ecosystem is set to unlock numerous benefits.

As a Gateway, Uzbekistan will be able to access the benefits of the WLP when trading via the UAE, where it joins a network of Hubs and many other Gateways that span Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Other countries that are part of the WLP network include India, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Brazil, Senegal, South Africa, and the UAE, amongst others.

Mahmood Ahmed Al Bastaki, Chief Operating Officer, DT World and General Manager of the WLP, said: “We are delighted to welcome Uzbekistan to the World Logistics Passport. Our program helps countries grow their economies and create jobs by boosting trade and making their products more competitive and accessible through more efficient supply chains.

“As Uzbekistan continues its export-driven economic program, traders in the country will now be able to expand and discover opportunities through our network of Hubs and Gateways across Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.”

H.E. Laziz Kudratov – First Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, said: “WLP membership is great news for traders and freight forwarders who will benefit from a network of multimodal trade Hubs across the global South by delivering time- and cost- efficiencies. We look forward to the development of Uzbekistan as a WLP Gateway, opening up new opportunities for the country”.

The WLP is a unique loyalty program which overcomes non-tariff trade barriers by incentivizing increased trade through more efficient and cheaper trade processes. Traders and freight forwarders get increased benefits the more they trade through member Hubs. The Benefits include cost and time savings, and faster customs clearances. Unlocking these Benefits allows nations and regions to gain access to new markets, diversify trade in existing products, and increase market shares in key export products in developing economies. As demonstrated in fully operational Hubs, traders and freight forwarders that are members of the WLP can expect to have an annual increase in trade on average of up to 5-10%. Free to join, the WLP is inclusive, covering the entire trade ecosystem from freight and logistics to trade finance.

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