MANILA, Philippines — The country’s garment exports are expected to fall below the $1.4-billion projection for the year given disruptions from the pandemic-induced lockdowns and shipping space constraints, the Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines (FOBAP) said.
“Quick calculation ...we will be lucky if we reach $1 billion by year-end,” FOBAP president Robert Young said yesterday.
He said the country’s garments exports are expected to be lower than the $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion target for this year as exporters are facing cancellations of orders amid disruptions from the imposition of lockdowns due to the threat of the more transmissible Delta variant.
Bataan, where many garments exporters operate, is among the areas that have been placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) or the most stringent quarantine classification from Aug. 8 to 22.
Young said all manufacturing activities by exporting locators in the Freeport Area of Bataan have been ordered to halt operations during the ECQ given the surge in coronavirus cases.
While garment exporters located in Philippine Economic Zone Authority zones and factory suppliers in Clark and Laguna are operational, he said their productivity is affected by the lack of transport, curfew and other restrictions.
Apart from the lockdowns, he said garment exporters continue to face other challenges such as the lack of shipping space.
“The shipping space crisis, which caused previous order cancellations too, is still on our shoulders and seems to have no solution yet,” he said.
“Best effort is to farm out to subcontractors, if with available production space,” he added.
With apparel products meant to be sold and used for a specific season, it is important for these items to be shipped out on time.
“We understand the cancellations as apparel are seasonal products,” Young said.