Shanghai lockdown to hit Kenya with goods drought

Consumers are staring at a shortage of goods from China in the next couple of weeks following the move by Chinese authorities to lock down the city of Shanghai, one of the world’s largest logistics hubs.

China has imposed a major lockdown on this port city on the back of growing numbers of Covid-19 infection cases as the Asian nation imposed its zero-tolerance policy to curb the spread of the virus.

The lockdown in Shanghai implies that goods from Yiwu, which is a hinterland that supplies a lot of goods such as kitchen wares, bedsheets, towels, toothpicks and some electronics, cannot reach the port for further shipping to Kenya.

“Yiwu supplies Kenya with 60 percent of goods that we get from China, however, the current restrictions on Shanghai imply that containers cannot get to the port for onward shipping to Kenya,” said James Kariuki, chairperson of the Kenyan-China Trade.

Shanghai is the world’s number one container port, playing a pivotal role in global trade with most countries in the world relying on China for the supply of key industrial materials and finished goods.

Consumers are staring at a shortage of goods from China in the next couple of weeks following the move by Chinese authorities to lock down the city of Shanghai, one of the world’s largest logistics hubs.

China has imposed a major lockdown on this port city on the back of growing numbers of Covid-19 infection cases as the Asian nation imposed its zero-tolerance policy to curb the spread of the virus.

The lockdown in Shanghai implies that goods from Yiwu, which is a hinterland that supplies a lot of goods such as kitchen wares, bedsheets, towels, toothpicks and some electronics, cannot reach the port for further shipping to Kenya.

“Yiwu supplies Kenya with 60 percent of goods that we get from China, however, the current restrictions on Shanghai imply that containers cannot get to the port for onward shipping to Kenya,” said James Kariuki, chairperson of the Kenyan-China Trade.

Shanghai is the world’s number one container port, playing a pivotal role in global trade with most countries in the world relying on China for the supply of key industrial materials and finished goods.

Source: Business daily