Apparel factories face temporary closure
As Sri Lanka’s apparel industry faces its toughest times ahead for some of the largest firms, Hirdaramani will be closing a few of its factories owing to order cancellations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
An official from the company told the Business Times on Thursday that “this is a decision we have taken because of the orders that have got cancelled and this is a direction given by the government for a temporary closure.”
The official stated that during this temporary closure of a “few factories” workers are being compensated.
The company hopes to resume operations at these factories once they receive orders. “We are confident that orders will come back and things will return back to normal,” the official said. Hirdaramani has about 19 factories at present in the country.
Meanwhile, more factories are facing order cancellations and even Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) orders are drying up.
Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association President Rehan Lakhany told the Business Times that there is a drop in orders, even the regular ones, from September onwards.
The toughest period would be from September to December, he noted adding that exporters expect orders to pick up from January onwards. However there is currently no confirmation from companies regarding future plans and in this respect, he said “we have to see how things work out”. Other industry officials said the tough period has already begun in July.