Coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to factory closures and layoffs across Asia. Low-wage workers are particularly vulnerable to any global economic downturn triggered by travel restrictions and quarantines. Factories in Southeast Asia are dependent on China for supplies like cloth, buttons and zippers. In Cambodia 10 factories have decided to suspend operations. Some 200 factories are expected to slow or stop production in March, affecting 1,00,000 of more than 850,000 employed in the sector, which is Cambodia's largest employer.

In Bangladesh, the world’s second largest garment manufacturing industry after China, factories are still running but anxiety is growing. Bangladesh has about 4,000 garment factories employing some four million workers. Almost 70 per cent of its woven fabrics come from China and if the goods do not arrive on time, the readymade garment industry will be affected. If the crisis in China is prolonged, the impact would be severe. Neighboring Myanmar has a smaller industry but is more dependent on China. Half of the nation’s 500 factories could shut down by March if the crisis persists. China supplies about 90 per cent of the fabrics sent to Myanmar.

Asia’s textile industry accounts for 60 per cent of the world’s readymade garments, textiles and footwear.