Brexit and Ukraine War Boost Europe's Market Competitiveness... BPA Rotterdam Logistics Center Sees Rising Volume

BPA Rotterdam Logistics Center.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Busan Port Authority (BPA)'s first overseas logistics center established in Rotterdam, Netherlands, is off to a smooth start.

On the 21st, BPA announced that inquiries from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) about the 'BPA Rotterdam Logistics Center,' which began operations last January, have been steadily increasing, and the volume is continuing to grow according to the established business plan.

The Rotterdam logistics center was built by BPA as the first domestic port public institution to establish a facility behind the port of Rotterdam, the gateway to Europe.

The logistics center was constructed to reduce logistics costs and strengthen export competitiveness for our SMEs and mid-sized companies entering the European market.

It covers an area of 30,000 square meters and was designated as a bonded area in mid-March, allowing bonded storage of cargo exported from Korea and entering Europe.

The BPA Rotterdam Logistics Center is actively addressing logistics difficulties faced by our SMEs due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Ships departing from Busan Port and heading to Russia's Saint Petersburg port have canceled their arrivals, causing a surge in urgent cargo storage requests at European ports such as Rotterdam.

BPA is supporting the storage of urgent cargo at the Rotterdam logistics center until the situation stabilizes.

The BPA Rotterdam Logistics Center is also helping to resolve logistics difficulties faced by our SMEs due to Brexit.

InkTech, which has a European corporation in the UK, used to send printers and ink manufactured in Korea to the UK and sell them to customers across Europe before Brexit. However, Brexit caused many difficulties, including customs clearance between the UK and the EU and delays in maritime transport from Korea to UK ports.

InkTech resolved these issues by using Rotterdam as a European logistics hub center following the opening of the BPA logistics center.

Kim Dong-su, head of InkTech's European corporation, said, "Using the BPA logistics center has enabled us to supply products stably to European customers," adding, "BPA operating logistics centers for overseas expansion companies is a great help."

Kang Jun-seok, president of BPA, said, "In the rapidly changing external environment, we will do our best to ensure that the Rotterdam logistics center practically resolves difficulties faced by SMEs entering Europe and enhances their competitiveness."