What products are threatened by the coronavirus?
Supplies of food, tech and fashion goods at threat as factories across China close doors
British high-street retailers are gearing up for potential stock shortages as a result of the global coronavirus outbreak.
Industry leaders are predicting a “lot of disruption” from next month, as shipments of a wide range of goods to the UK are cancelled in the wake of factory closures across China, The Times reports. Halfords, Primark, Asos and DFS are among the big-name brands that may be hit in the coming weeks.
So how much of a threat does the Covid-19 virus pose to supply chains - and which products may run short across the globe?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
High street and fashion
According to the BBC, the £2trn global fashion industry brings the UK more than £30bn a year in revenues, while China accounts for 38% of the market.
But with expected delays in deliveries of new collections worldwide, and a spike in new cases of the coronavirus across China that has left shopping malls deserted, “the luxury goods industry is seriously worried”, says the broadcaster.
The Times reports that British clothing company Joules, which imports 90% of its products from China, is looking to shift manufacturing to Bangladesh and Turkey amid fears over supply problems.
Meanwhile, profit warnings have been issued to investors by high-fashion brands including Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Coach, Kate Spade and Capri Holdings, the parent firm of Versace, Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo.
“We’ve never seen a situation like this, where sales go to zero. And it affects everybody, whether you’re a big or small brand,” Flavio Cereda, a managing director at investment bank Jeffries, told the BBC.
“We’re looking at at least four months of very painful trading figures.”
Personal technology
“With China producing 80% of the world’s smartphones, the coronavirus is expected to cause a 12% fall in the number of handsets made in the first quarter of the year,” the Daily Mail reports.
Apple has already warned investors that it no longer expects to meet revenue guidance provided last month for the upcoming March quarter.
“Work is starting to resume around [China], but we are experiencing a slower return to normal conditions than we had anticipated”, resulting in iPhone supply shortages that will “temporarily affect revenues worldwide”, the company said in an investor update.
The Telegraph reports that Apple supplier Foxconn, which has 12 factories in nine Chinese cities, “does not expect even half of its factories to be running again until the end of February”, although the company has denied that claim.
Medicine
Politico reports that although the virus has not yet disrupted medical supplies in the UK, that is “almost certain to change”.
“While Europe is one of the world’s top manufacturers of drugs, the raw ingredients often come from China or India,” the news site says, adding that this dependence is a “source of alarm” within the European Union.
At an emergency meeting in Brussels this week, German Health Minister Jens Spahn warned: “We have seen there might be a possibility [of the] risk of shortages of supplies due to the coronavirus.”
Shortages have already struck in India, where more than 80% of the raw materials for the country’s pharmaceutical supplies are imported from China.
The Telegraph reports that prices of common drugs in India have “skyrocketed due to disruptions” caused by the outbreak. The price of paracetamol has already jumped up by 40% and common antibiotics by 70%.
Industry and manufacturing
Construction equipment manufacturer JCB last week became one of the first major British companies to feel the direct impact of the coronavirus epidemic, cutting production and working hours in its UK factories owing to a shortage of components.
And JCB may be the first of many.
Shortages of components have also “put the brakes on car production across the world”, says the Daily Mail.
Coventry-based manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover revealed this week that it has “had to resort to flying components out of China in suitcases” in an effort to stop its UK plants from closing by the end of this month, the newpaper reports.
Food
Food shortages are unlikely to hit Europe as a result of the outbreak, but countries in other parts of the world are being affected.
India is having to make up for a shortfall in rice production in China, Yahoo! News reports.
China also produces more than two-thirds of the world’s garlic, but the industry has been rocked by factory closures and a run on supplies among those who believe the pungent plant can help prevent the spread of the infection.
The Daily Mail reports that fears over shortages have also triggered panic buying in Indonesia, leading the government to reassure the public that 120,000 tonnes of garlic have been stockpiled.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'This needs to be a bigger deal'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Magazine solutions - November 29, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 29, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Magazine printables - November 29, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 29, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Has the Taliban banned women from speaking?
Today's Big Question 'Rambling' message about 'bizarre' restriction joins series of recent decrees that amount to silencing of Afghanistan's women
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Cuba's energy crisis
The Explainer Already beset by a host of issues, the island nation is struggling with nationwide blackouts
By Rebekah Evans, The Week UK Published
-
Putin's fixation with shamans
Under the Radar Secretive Russian leader, said to be fascinated with occult and pagan rituals, allegedly asked for blessing over nuclear weapons
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Chimpanzees are dying of human diseases
Under the radar Great apes are vulnerable to human pathogens thanks to genetic similarity, increased contact and no immunity
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies hang over Sydney's Mardi Gras
The Explainer Police officer, the former partner of TV presenter victim, charged with two counts of murder after turning himself in
By Austin Chen, The Week UK Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 24 February - 1 March
Puzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will mounting discontent affect Iran election?
Today's Big Question Low turnout is expected in poll seen as crucial test for Tehran's leadership
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Sweden clears final NATO hurdle with Hungary vote
Speed Read Hungary's parliament overwhelmingly approved Sweden's accession to NATO
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published