Despite COVID-19 cases continuing to drop in Shanghai, with 3,947 cases reported on Monday, local authorities have again tightened anti-virus restrictions, in a bid to control or eliminate new cases within the week.
Our Shanghai office has emphasised the biggest problem remains the road restrictions, which unfortunately have worsened (especially for residential areas) as part of the new measures.
Some factories cannot or are not willing to arrange delivery to Shanghai, as doing so requires permits which are difficult to attain in addition to drivers facing quarantine upon returning from Shanghai.
There is still no clear indication on when restrictions may be eased, however, we expect to have a better idea towards the second half of the month.
An updated operational summary with key points is below for easy reference:
- Non bonded Warehouse: Kerry CFS warehouse is still operational, but with very limited capacity. Drivers require negative test results and onsite antigen testing.
- Kerry airfreight operation: While terminals and our Kerry warehouse are operational, efficiency has been adversely impacted. Exports are facing longer lead times than usual, including warehouse, declaration, and terminal operations. Warehousing space for imports is extremely tight due to restrictions.
- Bonded Warehouse (Yangshan): Our Yangshan BLP has recovered to around 70% capacity.
- Bonded Warehouse (Waigaoqiao): Kerry Waigaoqiao BLP still remains closed, however, as of yesterday a few staff have been allowed to enter in preparation for reopening.
Apart from Beijing, Zhengzhou, and Guangzhou, which are experiencing new cases daily, other major port gateways seem to be fine; these include, Xingang port, Dalian, Qingdao, Xiamen, Ningbo and Shenzhen.
We are closely monitoring the situation and will keep you updated with any further changes. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your local Kerry Representative.