There has been a lot of media coverage about the recent outbreak of the Coronavirus, but limited information about how it has been affecting Chinese supply chains.
Today we were asked by quite a few customers about how much the Coronavirus outbreak in China is affecting Chinese imports, and our ability to re-stock items that are currently out of stock, and when would we be getting more.
So, we spent some time speaking with our office in Hong Kong and our office in Shenzhen, as well as direct to some suppliers to try and get a real grass roots picture of the situation in these districts.
We also asked the question that our customer have bee asking; When will things start getting back to normal with regards to the china supply lines.
From speaking to multiple contacts, we understand that things are still far from back to normal. Although staff are being told they are planning to allow them back to work, the government keep pushing the date back and changing it.
Staff have been told dates including February 11th, then 15th the 18th that they can return to work, but still the date keeps moving back. There is no exact ETA of normality, as the powers that be keep changing the dates.
Some companies have been allowed one or two members of staff to return, but by no means are they allowing the full workforce back to work yet. In fact movement is actually being restricted in many areas, and residents are being told to remain indoors as much as possible.
All the markets in Shenzhen are still closed, as you can see from the images below. Shutters are down and no-one is there.
Blockades can be found preventing access to certain areas of Shenzhen, these images are from near one of the markets in Shenzhen.
We will keep our blog up to date with any developments and news as we receive it, and of course our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues that have been massively affected by the Coronavirus outbreak. Stay Safe !
