Sri Lanka faces drop in apparel orders
Sri Lanka’s apparel orders are facing a 10-15 per cent drop as a result of the instability at home and the rising inflation in its buying markets like Europe and US.
“We could see a reduction in orders and it varies from company to company but approximately there is a 10-15 per cent drop,” Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) Spokesman Yohan Lawrence told the Business Times.
He pointed out that this was mainly due to external factors like inflation in Europe and that there were extra stocks of products in markets still available and a general slowing down of those economies.
With the purchasing power among European customers reducing the European Commission has stated that inflation will peak later and persist longer.
Orders are seeing a general reduction even in other countries like Bangladesh indicating that the purchasing power among US and European customers have dropped as a result of which most of the stocks already sent there have still not been picked up.
The pinch is expected to be first felt by the smaller factories and delays in meeting orders have also been experienced as a result of the current issues faced by the industry locally with a fuel shortage causing disruptions to factory performance and even worker transport.
Mr. Lawrence pointed out that they were to have discussions on establishing an economic task force to ease the burden of the employees faced with a surge in prices in the Sri Lankan market.
However, when speaking with some key buyers the Business Times learnt that there is a general fear by buyers on the current situation in Sri Lanka alongside the inflationary pressures in the EU and the US.
Most US buyers are likely to withdraw orders from Sri Lanka except those maintaining good relationships with their suppliers here.
In this respect, by September/October a dip in overall orders to Sri Lanka is expected which is a combination of the external factors and the impact of the current economic and political unrest in the country.
As part of contingency plans the buyers are opting to send orders elsewhere and it is learnt that certain brands in the US market are “taking a harder stance”.
While JAAF and local trade unions are trying to secure their orders and ensure workers are able to retain their jobs, this is all based on the current situation and on the reaction of the markets.
FTZ and General Services Union General Secretary Anton Marcus said there is a there is a threat of buyers withdrawing orders and some factories outside the zones have stopped work.
During the COVID-19 outbreak in
Sri Lanka about 150,000 workers lost jobs but the workload had increased resulting in January to June recording a 20 per cent increase in earnings at US$2, 792.44 million.
Hitad.lk has you covered with quality used or brand new cars for sale that are budget friendly yet reliable! Now is the time to sell your old ride for something more attractive to today's modern automotive market demands. Browse through our selection of affordable options now on Hitad.lk before deciding on what will work best for you!