Sri Lanka’s apparel industry shut owing to the crisis
With cancellations on the order books, Sri Lanka’s apparel industry is facing a crisis as most of its factories have shut down operations following the curfew imposed to battle the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are completely shut down. The industry is going through cancellations and payments not coming in from customers as well as most of their offices have closed in Europe and the US,” Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association (SLAEA) President Rehan Lakhany told the Business Times.
However the Board of Investment (BOI) in a statement on Thursday said that there was no requirement for BOI companies to stop work.
Mr. Lakhany noted that recently at least one exporter had to face cancellation of a million dollar order just prior to being shipped out of the country.
Moreover, with retail stores in Europe and the US closing due a lack of demand from customers, ‘money is not coming in and most of the customers have requested to stop production and not to ship anything’.
Following the clampdown of the economy on Friday with curfew imposed, the factories have remained closed.
“We don’t know how we will start after the curfew as in the next two to three months there won’t be any work,” Mr. Lakhany explained.
Most factory owners are concerned how workers will be paid their salaries as they have no orders coming in from their markets.
“The loss is colossal for three months,” the SLAEA head said adding that it would cost up to US$5 million to the industry to pay salaries to staff.
| Medical suits, face masks by the apparel industry Sri Lanka’s apparel industry has come forward to assist the government in the combat against COVID – 19 with free protective medical suits and face masks. The Joint Apparel Association Forum has committed to producing one million pieces of protective medical suits in line with government recommendations and a further two million face masks, Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association President Rehan Lakhany said. He noted that these medical suits and face masks will be made available to the government as part of a CSR initiative of the industry and will provide them free to the health sector. The US$ 500,000 worth of two million face masks will be manufactured by 10 factories that have volunteered to do so. This requirement is currently under discussion between the apparel industry and the relevant authorities. They would have to face certain issues of transporting staff to the factories during the curfew while working with a skeletal staff, some of whom have already left the city, as per the current requirements at workplaces around the country.
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