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Malaysia's medical glove makers face weeks of delays in delivering products to customers abroad due to a global shortage of shipping containers, hampering their ability to meet demand during the coronavirus crisis, industry officials said.
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's medical glove makers face weeks of delays in delivering products to customers abroad due to a global shortage of shipping containers, hampering their ability to meet demand during the coronavirus crisis, industry officials said.
Chua said ocean freight for certain destinations have spiked by 300% to more than 500%.
WHILE government policies and laws are key towards facilitating a healthy industry, the role of industry associations are also undeniably important in helping to ensure that regulatory measures support the growth of the industry as well.
For the Timber Exporter’s Association of Malaysia (TEAM), which was established in 1955 with approximately 680 members, it aims to distill the feedback of industry players into a single, concerted voice to liaise with the government on policy and regulatory issues related to timber.
According to its president Chua Song Fong, apart from furniture, most of the other sectors within the timber industry have seen a drop in business since the pandemic’s outbreak.
No Easy Solution To Global Container Shortage
The current shortage of containers has resulted in high freight rates for exporters and disrupted many Malaysian businesses that trade globally.
This, in turn, has led to calls from the Malaysian National Shippers’ Council (MNSC) for the government to intervene and provide some sort of fiscal relief to exporters in the form of tax incentives and the removal of the cap on total logistics costs for a Market Development Grant. (The grant, capped at 30% of logistics costs, is given by the government to encourage companies to expand their market.)
The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) is also urging the government and the port authorities to leverage their relationships with shipping lines to get them to provide more services and capacity to Malaysian ports.