/

Raw Materials Imported: 50 Tonnes Of Raw Materials Imported From China

18 March 2020
12867
2020-03-18 11:23

A cargo plane carrying raw materials for garment factories landed in Yangon on Tuesday night.

15 tonnes of raw materials were transported from Guangzhou of southern China, and it will be immediately supplied to the 11 local garment factories.

The Chairman of Chinese Textile and Garment Association in Myanmar said although transportation costs for flights are high, this way is very effective and useful for supplying commodities without delay. He added that it will be a great help to continue operation of the factories.

Chairman, Myanmar Chinese Textile and Garment Association, San Khun said “A total of 15 tons of raw materials have been transported by the cargo plane. It will be covered for 11 factories which have around 14,000 workers. They can now operate the factory within a month as they have raw materials.”

To lessen impacts on the country’s garment industry amid Covid-19 crisis, the Ministry of Commerce, the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association, the Chinese embassy in Myanmar and the China Enterprises Chamber of Commerce are working together to import raw materials for local garment factories.

Some cargos have also been imported  through Muse border checkpoints with the daily capacity of 50 vehicles.

Joint General Secretary, Myanmar Garment Entrepreneurs Association, Khine Khine Nwe said “About 80 to 90% of raw materials for garment industrials have to rely on China. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in China, we are facing difficulties. We have raw materials for about two to three months in hand. Normally, we use to ship by water route. But when the border gates reopened, about 30% of raw materials have been imported.”

The arrival of raw materials could help reduce the unemployment rate in Myanmar garment industry, while about 20 garment factories have shut down due to the shortage of raw materials.

Chairperson, Yangon Region Hluttaw Finance, Planning and Economic Committee, Sander Min said “These raw materials could help 11 factories to be in operation before Thingyan period. So, we imported by a cargo plane to be here as soon as possible. It is definitely sure that these 11 factories can avoid the closure. The workers from these factories will be doing their routines as usual.” 

It is learnt that there are over 400 garment factories in Yangon, creating around 500,000 jobs, and the majority of these workers are young women.

-- End --