- A growing list of commodities and essentials in short supply are being experienced by consumers, as well as businesses, with the disruption chiefly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Shortages in China are wide ranging and include fewer toy items for export, paper, edibles, textile products, and also reductions in supplies of semiconductor chips
- The issue has, in part, been caused by the logjam in United States’ ports
BEIJING, China: Throughout the world, countries are suffering from the disruptions of global supply chains.
A growing list of commodities and essentials in short supply are being experienced by consumers, as well as businesses, with the disruption chiefly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.
China is facing a possible crisis, with the impacts being felt by retailers, as well as businesses, both domestically and aboard.
Shortages in China are wide ranging and include fewer toy items for export, paper, edibles, textile products, and also reductions in supplies of semiconductor chips.
Those products “may end up being in short supply this Christmas,” noted Doctor Michal Meidan at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.
The shortages in China have been caused by the power crisis that resulted in over 20 provinces reeling from blackouts.
Over 50 percent of China’s electricity is derived from coal, though prices have spiked globally. However, due to stringent pricing caps, China’s consumer bracket is not burdened with such costs, resulting in power companies curtailing output.
The inability to provide electricity has caused factories to reduce energy usage or remain shut on specific days.
“There will be things that people can’t get,” a spokesman at the White House said regarding Christmas shopping.
Toy supplies will be impacted, as well as essential items, including toilet paper, clothing, and edibles for pets.
The issue has, in part, been caused by the logjam in United States’ ports. Some 40 percent of seagoing vessels that enter the United States pass through the ports of Los Angeles and Southern California’s Long Beach.
As many as 73 ships have been spotted outside Los Angeles waiting to unload, compared to there rarely being more than a single ship waiting to enter the dock before Covid.
To reduce the wait time, the ports have begun operating round the clock.
