The economic impacts show how reliant we have become on the Far East - Primark is the latest company to announce problems and on the BBC 6-o-clock news bulletin, they were talking about toy retailers running short of supplied - outsourcing our manufacturing to the region was not such a good idea after all (iPhones and smartphones are affected, as will televisions and computers plus components):
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/primark-warns-of-clothing-shortages-from-coronavirus-0pgnwp6pg
"The owner of Primark has warned that the coronavirus could result in shortages of some clothing products if the production delays in China continue.
Associated British Foods (ABF), the conglomerate behind the fashion retailer, today became the latest multinational to reveal the disruption caused by the virus.
The FTSE 100 group said that “if delays to factory production are prolonged, the risk of supply shortages on some lines later this financial year increases”.
Dechra Pharmaceuticals, the FTSE 250 company, said alongside its half-year results that it has “sufficient inventory of Chinese-sourced materials to deal with near-term supply, however a prolonged period of interruption would lead to out of stocks”.
Meanwhile, Ascential, the exhibitions business, confirmed that it had postponed its Money 20/20 Asia conference in Singapore from March to August because of travel difficulties in the region.
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