A Study on Development Strategies for Agricultural Logistics Centers in the Mekong Delta Region of Vietnam

Abstract

Can Tho City, the fifth largest city in Vietnam and located at the hub of the Mekong Delta region, is located 160km west of Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in Vietnam, and the southern part of the Hasu River, the first tributary of the Mekong River. The area is 1,439 ㎢, and the climate is hot and humid and the topography is flat, making it an environment suitable for agricultural and marine product production. Agricultural products, a major item of Vietnam's primary industry, are a major handling item in the Mekong Delta region, including Can Tho City. In order to determine the direction for the development of logistics development in the Mekong Delta region and Can Tho City, field surveys and detailed data surveys, consultations with related organizations such as Can Tho City, and development experiences and opinions of Korean companies that have entered Vietnam were listened to. As a result, building an Agricultural Products Processing Center (APC) was identified as a priority. As a result of the AHP analysis, in the major categories, ‘securing infrastructure’ was rated as 0.642, which was evaluated as overwhelmingly more important than other items. Next, ‘preparation of government support policy’ was 0.188, and ‘establishment of smart logistics operating system’ was 0.170. In the sub-category of securing major category infrastructure, 'transport network connected to logistics center' was evaluated as 0.383, the most important item, followed by 'storage facility' (0.241), 'gathering and delivery facility' (0.233), and 'support facility' (0.143). Subsequently, based on the results of the AHP survey, this study presented the development strategies for the agricultural logistics center in Can Tho City by dividing it into short-term, mid-term, and long-term. In the short term, it was proposed to focus on building logistics center infrastructure and linked transportation infrastructure, and in the mid term, an efficient system operation plan for agricultural logistics center was suggested. In the long term, support policies for companies using agricultural logistics center and the establishment of food industry clusters in the hinterland were proposed. This study presents a strategy for promoting an agricultural logistics center in Can Tho City, the central city of the Mekong Delta region. It is expected that it will be used as a reference material.