• Friday, March 29, 2024

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Demand for certain goods during Covid-19 increases pressure on supply chains in south-east Asia

FILE PHOTO: A worker inspects disposable gloves at the Top Glove factory in Shah Alam on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur on August 26, 2020. (Photo by MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty Images)

By: Pramod Kumar

INCREASED demand for certain goods during the pandemic has placed additional pressure on supply chains in south-east Asia, according to a report in The Guardian.

Countries in the region that managed to avoid the worst of the pandemic last year are facing new waves of Covid-19, fuelled by more contagious variants. In countries including Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia, clusters have begun in key manufacturing sites, the report added.

In Vietnam, which virtually eradicated the virus last year, total cases have tripled since the start of May, reaching almost 10,000, driven partly by outbreaks in factories.

Malaysia was forced to impose a lockdown this month after daily cases surpassed 9,000. Much of the country’s manufacturing sector has been allowed to continue operating at limited capacity throughout lockdown, despite concerns raised by campaigners, The Guardian report said.

Last week, more than 800 workers at glove maker WRP had tested positive for Covid.

“Unfortunately the whole setup of these production lines and factories is not conducive to Covid-19 prevention,” said Andy Hall, a specialist in migrant workers’ rights.

Many such products are destined for Europe: tech gear and printers for people who are working from home, medical gloves for health workers, tinned tuna for people stocking up the cupboards.

In Thailand, workers at more than 130 factories have been infected, according to a survey by the industry ministry reported by Thai media. This includes Charoen Pokphand Foods, Thailand’s biggest agriculture business.

Suthasinee Kaewleklai, Thailand coordinator of the advocacy group the Migrant Workers Rights Network, told the newspaper that many of the country’s affected factories are staffed by workers from Cambodia and Myanmar, who are especially vulnerable. “They don’t have worker unions or labour unions like Thai workers. They don’t have representatives to negotiate what the employers should do for them.”

Chhaeut SoPhally, a garment worker in Cambodia, which has also seen a recent rise in cases, said that even if people do manage to remain distanced on the factory floor, his colleagues were crammed together as they journeyed to and from work on the back of trucks. For some, the journey can take hours, he said.

Chhaeut tested positive following an outbreak among colleagues at a garment factory in Kampong Chhnang, central Cambodia. He was immediately taken to an isolation room to wait for an ambulance, which would ferry him to a quarantine facility.

For many, the economic consequences of the virus are feared more than the illness itself.

The United Nations Development Programme estimates that poverty will almost double in the country due to Covid-19, spreading to 17.6 per cent of the population.

Cambodia’s garment sector was thrown into crisis at the start of the pandemic, when companies abruptly cancelled orders. Over 100 factories closed last year, and more than 400 others suspended employment, often for months at a time.

The recent outbreak in Cambodia, which began in April and prompted a severe lockdown, has caused further disruption and again placed greater pressure on the poorest. Cambodian law doesn’t require employers to pay a full salary during the lockdown.

As cases have risen across many countries in the region, access to vaccines is limited. Cambodia has fully vaccinated almost 14 per cent of its population, far more than many of its neighbours, thanks to its close relations with China, which has provided much of its supply, the report added.

Thailand began its immunisation campaign only on 7 June, and has fully vaccinated less than 2.5 per cent of the population. There are concerns about shortages of doses, however.

The country is relying primarily on Siam Bioscience, a company owned by the king which has not previously produced vaccines, to provide its supply of AstraZeneca jabs. The company is due to supply doses to eight other countries in the region, but it was recently confirmed that orders to the Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan would be delayed.

Campaigners are calling for governments to ensure that migrant workers get equal access to vaccines, including undocumented migrants who are not currently in work.

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