Soft goods exports may fall short of target

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s soft goods exports are seen to fall short of the initial estimate for the year due to cancellation of some orders amid the pandemic, the Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines (FOBAP) said.

FOBAP president Robert Young said in an interview that total shipments of soft goods covering mostly garments are expected to reach $900 million by end-2020, below the initial estimate of $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion.

To date, he said there has been a 50 percent reduction in production or exports of soft goods since March due to the impact of the pandemic.

“Many have cancelled orders,” he said.

While there have been cancellation of some orders earlier this year, he said some buyers have already placed orders for next year.

FOBAP has confirmed export orders amounting to $220 million that would be on the sewing floor up to the first quarter of next year.

“Buyers are Wacoal, Adidas, Ralph Lauren, Ann Taylor, and JC Penney, among others,” Young said.

For next year, he said the group expects total shipments to just match this year’s expected $900 million.

He said the risk of a second wave of COVID-19 cases which may prompt government to restrict movement and impose another lockdown would affect operations of firms.

Should orders pick up next year, he also said the group cannot accept too many due to limited production capacity.

“We don’t have extra production capacity. No one is putting up a new factory. There are those that closed and will not open again,” he said.

Last year, the country’s shipments of soft goods amounted to around $1 billion.