Damage Caused by Customs and Transportation Disruptions
Urgent Need for Measures Such as Securing Alternative Export Countries
#. Employees of fashion startup Company A, which designs and manufactures clothing domestically for export, have had to focus solely on China for nearly a month. This was because the customs clearance of goods loaded onto ships for export was endlessly delayed. They also faced difficulties as planned promotional events were canceled.
#. E-commerce company B, which operates a direct purchase site for Korean products in China, suspended its business last month. Although orders continued to come in, it became difficult to find a way to deliver them. The damage worsened as local employees were unable to go to work and parcel shipments were delayed for an extended period.
The damage caused by the lockdown in China has not spared startups either. Although restrictions have recently begun to ease, startups that jumped into the market solely based on the potential of China had no choice but to remain idle after major cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou were locked down.
The immediate damage startups suffered occurred due to disruptions in customs clearance and transportation. Industry insiders lamented that there were many cases where additional contracts were delayed because products exported from Korea were stuck at Shanghai Port. This even raised concerns about the cancellation of existing contracts. Production also halted due to local transportation stoppages. A representative from a clothing-related startup explained, "Due to the suspension of local transportation company operations, we could not transport production samples and were unable to obtain buyer confirmation, which caused problems in the production schedule."
Although Shanghai city has announced plans to gradually restore commercial functions, potential damage to companies is expected to continue. The prolonged lockdown period means it will take considerable time to recover sales channels. Especially for startups, securing local sales channels is directly linked to their survival, making it urgent to prepare countermeasures such as securing alternative export countries. An industry insider appealed, "All scheduled trade fairs and meetings with local buyers have been canceled or postponed, making it difficult to discover new buyers and causing difficulties in securing sales channels."
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