Indonesia’s consul-general in Penang says the new route is shorter than the Belawan-Singapore route and will bring commodities from Sumatra to peninsula states and Southeast Asia.

Vietnam was identified as a priority country ‘due to its persistent failure to resolve long-standing concerns about IP protection and enforcement’.

With fuel and fertiliser supplies still disrupted due to the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, farmers across Asia are bracing for costs to start weighing on rice production.