Gov’t takes steps to lower logistics, transport costs

With the threat of losing trade privileges in the EU drawing closer, the government is taking measures to reduce logistics and transportation costs to safeguard the Kingdom’s competitiveness. The EU is due to decide whether or not to withdraw the Kingdom’s trade privileges under the Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme next month. The government has been intervening to reduce the cost of services in the Kingdom’s main ports, according to a recent report from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. The terminal handling charge in Sihanoukville Autonomous Port and Phnom Penh Autonomous Port has been reduced by $5 per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU), while the container imbalance charge has been slashed by $12 for a 20-foot container and $40 for a 40-foot one. The ocean freight charge has been halved for freight shipments to China, while the emergency bunker surcharge will be dropped in some instances.