China & South East Asia Update nr. 1, 2022
China
- Will China continue to reign as an apparel sourcing superpower in 2022?
- Xinjiang Uyghurs Aren’t China’s Only Forced Labor Problem
- China’s Energy Crisis Adds to Supply Chain Woes
- Import statistics China
Myanmar
- Myanmar’s ‘Deteroriating’ Labor-Rights Crisis Grows More Dire
- Import statistics Myanmar
Vietnam
- Vietnamese textiel- en kledingsector herstelt zich
- Vietnam’s Worker Exodus Sparks Fresh Fears of Production Problems
- Import statistics Vietnam
China
Will China continue to reign as an apparel sourcing superpower in 2022?
The apparel and textile sector in China has not had an easy ride in recent years – the pandemic forcing factory closures to concerns over human rights violations in Xinjiang cotton production dampening demand – but does it really mark the beginning of the end of China's reign as an apparel sourcing powerhouse? Hannah Abdulla of Just-style explores. Read more (you may need a login to read the complete article).
Xinjiang Uyghurs Aren’t China’s Only Forced Labor Problem
A Uyghur rights group has filed an argument with the High Court of England and Wales to challenge the importation of cotton goods produced in China using the “well-documented and widespread” use of ethnic-minority forced labor.“Living in a free country which upholds respect for human rights, it hurts so much to know that the products that are used in this country are the fruit of the enslavement of my people,” said Rahima Mahmut, the U.K. project director for the World Uyghur Congress, which is pressing its case with the support of the Global Legal Action Network, writes Sourcing Journal. Read more (you may need a login to read the complete article).
China’s Energy Crisis Adds to Supply Chain Woes
Blackouts and power shortages at Chinese factories are adding to the supply chain challenges facing the global fashion industry.With virtually no warning, factories around China have had their lights suddenly go out over the past month. “It has a massive impact. All of a sudden you get a notification that they are about to switch off the power,” said manufacturing veteran Gerhard Flatz.Flatz is the managing director of KTC Group, a high-end activewear manufacturer based in Guangdong province that produces for European brands such as Mammut, Mountain Force and Helly Hansen, reports Business of Fashion. Read more (you may need a login to read the complete article).
Import statistics China
Source: Eurostat/Modint
Myanmar
Myanmar’s ‘Deteroriating’ Labor-Rights Crisis Grows More Dire
Myanmar’s garment workers are growing increasingly desperate.“Working conditions in Myanmar [are] getting worse day by day,” Khaing Zar Aung, the exiled president of Industrial Workers Federation of Myanmar (IWFM), a trade union, tweeted earlier this week. “Forced labor is rampant in many factories.”Before the military violently seized power in February, the Southeast Asian nation’s minimum daily wage had stagnated at 4,800 kyats ($2.70), barely enough for workers to survive on. Now, Khaing Zar Aung said, they’re lucky if they receive 3,600 kyats ($2.02), pushing them to the edge of starvation and destitution even as they grapple with the excessive force meted out by the junta as it tries to quell protests, writes Sourcing Journal. Read more (you may need a login to read the complete article).
Import statistics Myanmar
Source: Eurostat/Modint
Vietnam
Vietnamese textiel- en kledingsector herstelt zich
Na een golf van ontslagen heeft de textiel- en kledingsector in Vietnam zich in het laatste kwartaal van 2021 snel hersteld door zijn "nul-op-de-meter"-beleid te laten varen.Vietnam is, samen met Cambodja, Bangladesh en meer recentelijk Birma, een belangrijke leverancier van kleding en textiel aan de Europese Unie (en de westerse wereld in het algemeen), schrijft FashionUnited. Lees meer>>
Vietnam’s Worker Exodus Sparks Fresh Fears of Production Problems
Will container shortages continue? What are the chances my goods will get stuck in customs? How much sales risk should I assume for Q4? Cotton prices are higher than ever, how can I navigate them? The “gradual reopening” of Ho Chi Minh City, the epicenter of the Southeast Asian nation’s worst viral outbreak, was meant to promote economic recovery after four months of mobility curbs, yet an exodus of factory employees returning to their home provinces could plunge supply chains into greater turbulence ahead of the busiest shopping season of the year, reports Sourcing Journal. Read more (you may need a login to read the complete article).
Import statistics Vietnam
Source: Eurostat/Modint
