Case study

The global economy is increasingly interconnected every year, driving massive demand for the transport of goods across regions and value chains. Since container transport development in the mid-20th century, the standardized method of transportation by cargo has made transportation safer and efficient. To facilitate this process, industrialized countries have developed container ports throughout export-oriented regions. In 2019, the worldwide production of container ports increased by approximately 2.3 percent year-on-year. In 2018, Shanghai was the world's largest port of transit containers. Most of the biggest container ports worldwide were located in Asia in the same year. The coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) was a significant shock to the world economy. With lock-downs imposed by many countries, industrial production slowed down, causing major canceled delivery chain routes and impacting marine logistics. By 13 February 2020, more than 151 000 containers were withdrawn on the route Europe-Asia. About 310 container ships worldwide were inactive by 2 March 2020. Although most studies have demonstrated that the damage is for Western countries, no one should be left behind, including the developing and third-world countries. This exposed the supply chain's fragility, which affected commercial volumes, particularly during a pandemic, because of declining prices. Carriers with fewer ships can also decrease, resulting in layoffs and longer lead times. Regardless of port infrastructure, port operations, and efficiency promised, a decreasing number of containers and handling are still reported daily. The US and European companies are operating in survival mode due to decreased global container volumes, maintaining current stocks, and using transit suspension or retention applications for goods already in transit. On average, domestic traffic is disrupted by the port more than can be observed worldwide. The number of ports that are being disrupted by lorry operations is decreasing gradually. Also, many port operators need to think about the right strategy. As an export manager, discuss the following issues:

1.Discuss the issue in the case above by indicating TWO (2) future international trade practices and trends using your chosen country. Support your answer with appropriate citation and evidence on export performance.

2. Elaborate FIVE (5) key functions of export credit insurance that can reduce the risk during a pandemic. Explain how the stakeholder can utilize the export credit insurance in enhancing the safety aspect of the cargo finance and payment. Support each answer with relevant examples and citations as evidence.

3.Formulate FOUR (4) critical analysis based on the scenario above. Provide ample justification and evidence for each of the discussion made.