Vessels divert routes to bypass the Persian Gulf as freight rates surge; firms seek alternative routes to save shipments.

A major supermarket in the United Arab Emirates had to charter a flight to India to import goods due to disruptions in maritime transport in the Middle East. A shipment of bananas and a shipment of Vietnamese guavas en route to the Middle East had to return to Vietnam after fighting broke out, triggering caution among exporters about risks in shipping. These points were raised by Le Chau Thai Vu, Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese Agricultural Entrepreneurs Club, at the seminar “Halal Strategy: Connecting Vietnamese Food to the GCC and Southeast Asia” on 3 April 2026, urging authorities to advise exporters to the Middle East at this time. Freight rates surged by about 500%. In response to the concerns from businesses, Truong Xuan Trung, Head of the Vietnamese Trade Office in the UAE, said that with the current conflict, disruptions are not due to importers or exporters; rather, shipping lines are avoiding sailing into the Persian Gulf. “Ports in the UAE are operating normally, but ships do not dare to enter to deliver goods,” Trung said. The article notes that even Lulu, the UAE-based hypermarket, is not placing new orders and is only processing orders already waiting in the Indian Ocean, with some shipments being delivered via air to ensure freshness; this has required chartering planes from India. Vietnamese exporters could consider using flight routes between Dubai, Abu Dhabi (UAE) and Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City to move goods, though this is expensive and not feasible for small businesses. In the UAE, broccoli price is normally 7-8 dirhams per kg; but air-freighted shipments from India push prices to about 25 dirhams per kg (roughly 180,000 VND). Another option is shipping to Oman by sea and then transporting by road to the UAE, but this route has complex procedures. Ta Xuan Hien, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Business Association in UAE, also noted that few shipping lines are willing to transport goods currently, with freight rates rising by almost 500%. Even UAE buyers face limited options beyond renegotiating delivery times, as both sides understand the force majeure circumstances. Four strategies recommended by Bee Logistics Corporation for handling disrupted shipments to the Middle East include: (1) if a ship must turn back, logistics providers can coordinate with the shipowner to share costs and propose a relief fee for returning cargo to Vietnam; (2) logistics providers can advise buyers at the port of transfer to re-distribute cargo to transfer to another vessel to complete the journey, saving time and costs; (3) logistics providers can request the shipper to liquidate the cargo; (4) if a logistics firm knows a line that can reach the Middle East, cargo can be loaded from the port back in Ho Chi Minh City to the Middle East; as of 26 March, some lines have managed to reach some Middle East ports. Despite the logistics challenges, the Halal market remains highly promising. The Vietnamese Trade Office in the UAE states that the global Halal economy currently reaches about $5 trillion and is expected to double to $10 trillion by 2028, with the Middle East accounting for 62.5% of the global share and a projected market size of $380 billion by 2030, underpinned by 500 million Muslim consumers. The region imports 85-90% of its food and beverage needs. The Trade Office recommends exporters promptly standardize Halal documentation, localize packaging with bilingual English-Arabic labeling, and accelerate leveraging e-commerce platforms that account for over 80% of Halal consumer transactions in the region. Trần Chung VietnamNet