Phl among world's best in trade logistics

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines has ranked high among developing nations in terms of trade logistics, a global survey conducted by the World Bank showed.

Overall, the country landed 52nd out of the 155 nations covered by the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Indicators (LPI) study.

 “Trade logistics is key to economic competitiveness, growth, and poverty reduction,” said Otaviano Canuto, World Bank vice president for poverty reduction and economic management.

Singapore and Hong Kong again emerged as the top leaders since the two nations have been highly competitive in trade logistics.

But the Philippines, along with India and Morocco, were singled out as leaders in the lower middle-income category.

The World Bank said infrastructure was one of the chief drivers of progress for the top performers in the different categories, followed by improvements in logistics services and customs and border management.

 “All top performers show strong cooperation between public and private sectors, and a comprehensive approach in the development of services, infrastructure and efficient logistics,” Mona Haddad, World Bank international trade department sector head, said.

The World Bank noted that the global trade logistics performance has slowed down in the last two years due to the worldwide recession.

Nevertheless, some countries stood out as having continued to improve logistical structures despite the recession.

Aside from Singapore and Hong Kong, other countries that were singled out by the study were Chile, China, South Africa, Turkey and the US.

 The survey was conducted among the world’s leading international freight forwarders and express carriers.

The LPI study said that high-income economies dominate the top logistics rankings while the economies with the worst performance are the least developed countries that are also often landlocked, small islands, or post-conflict states.

 “Nevertheless, logistical performance is not simply determined by the level of per capita income, as many countries across different income groups have done better than their peers,” it said.

The survey also found that logistics is important for food security. Transport and logistics directly affect the price and local availability of food through the performance and resilience of food chains, especially in African and Middle Eastern countries that depend heavily on food imports.

In developing countries transport and logistics account for 20 percent up to 60 percent of delivered food prices. For instance, they make up 48 percent of the cost of US corn imported by Nicaragua.

Meanwhile, the LPI study noted that the top performers have developed and maintained a strong public-private partnership and dialogue. Likewise, good cooperation between policymakers, practitioners, administrators and academics, and a comprehensive approach in the development of transport services, infrastructure and efficient logistics added to their strong performance.