International trade in the first months of 2026 continues to face major challenges as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East persist. These developments have directly affected important sea transport routes, leading to risk of supply chain disruptions, soaring logistics costs and unstable delivery times.
Given this situation, choosing air transport (specialized charter) is of particular importance. This is considered a timely logistics solution to ensure supply of goods to distribution system in the UAE, while also demonstrating rapid adaptability of Vietnamese businesses in face of unpredictable global market fluctuations.
For fresh agricultural products, time is a crucial factor determining the quality and freshness of the product when it reaches consumers. Therefore, continuous deployment of charter flights has significantly shortened transportation time, minimizing risks arising from complex transshipment process of sea transport.
This helps maintain stability of supply chain between Vietnam and the Middle East market, meeting the region's increasing demand for high-quality tropical agricultural products.
On May 10, 2026, the second charter flight carrying 98 tonnes of Vietnamese agricultural products officially took off from Tan Son Nhat Airport. This was result of direct guidance of Mr. M.A. Yusuff Ali, Chairman and CEO of LuLu Group International – retail group that owns globally renowned LuLu Hypermarket chain.
This shipment was handled by MAY Exports Vietnam (headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City) under direct coordination of Mr. Mirash Basheer. The fact that a large corporation like LuLu Group is continuously organizing dedicated flights to procure Vietnamese goods, even amidst caution of many international businesses due to concerns about regional instability, is an extremely positive sign.
This event demonstrates strong confidence of Middle Eastern importers in production capacity, technical standards and ability of Vietnamese businesses to meet stringent order requirements.
This event not only helped consolidate position of Vietnamese goods in the region's leading retail system but also created a positive ripple effect, paving the way for exports to markets within Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in general.
Beyond its commercial value, maintaining a stable flow of goods amidst complex geopolitical conditions has affirmed Vietnam's increasingly important role in global agricultural supply chain. Effective coordination between domestic export businesses and large international distribution groups such as LuLu Group demonstrates Vietnam's proactive and flexible approach in maintaining key markets.
Success of the second charter flight has raised great expectations for establishing regular air cargo routes between Vietnam and the Middle East in the near future. This will be a solid foundation to further boost agricultural export turnover and enhance the brand value of Vietnamese goods internationally.
In context of ongoing global instability, a strategy of diversifying transportation methods and directly accessing major distribution chains will help Vietnamese agricultural products not only overcome logistical bottlenecks but also increase their competitiveness in promising markets.

Source: Vitic/ congthuong.vn