Coronavirus factory closures in China may swell demand for SA-made products

Article from BizCommunity

Albert Louw, Lasher Tools marketing manager, says that the company has gained new business as a consequence of the outbreak of coronavirus in China and the closure of manufacturing in the country in an attempt to stem the spread of the deadly virus.

World’s largest manufacturing economy halted

“For the first time, a big local retailer placed a multi-million-rand order with Lasher for products that the company has never bought from us before,” Louw says, adding that the order was a direct result of the curtailed supply of tools from China.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Worldwide a total of 89,254 cases of the virus have been reported and 3,058 people have died. The vast majority of infections and fatalities have occurred in China. Outside China, there have been more than 8,000 cases of the novel coronavirus reported in over 50 countries. Three infections have been confirmed in Africa - in Egypt, Algeria and Nigeria.[click here to read full article]

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