15% of manufacturing companies in Vietnam have slashed their production as the textile and apparel industry hard hit due to coronavirus outbreak, reports Reuters.

The country’s labour ministry informed this data last week. This crisis situation directly impacted 2.8 million workers in the labor-intensive garment and textile industry as firms have reduced shifts and stopped overtime, according to Vietnam News Agency report.
 

More than 500,000 workers in the transport sector and another 500,000 in the tourism sector have also been affected due to travel curbs, the report added.

The coronavirus, which has killed more than 11,000 people worldwide and infected 87 people in Vietnam as of 20 MArch, has led the country to suspend all international flights and impose restrictions on foreign visitors.

Vietnam-based airlines have cut salaries and encouraged employees to take unpaid leave as they struggle with the impact of coronavirus on travel demand.

Vietnamese garment makers will face a severe shortage of materials from the second quarter because of disruption to their supply chains, the chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association Vu Duc Giang said.

Vietnam’s garment and textile exports last year rose 7.8% to $32.85 billion, according to government’s customs data. Now the country is considering India as a supplier for raw materials to its garment and textile sector amid a shortage linked to the coronavirus outbreak.