Market Update 7th May 2020

Like most of the world, Asia and the Philippines continue to battle COVID-19.

The initial lockdown in the Philippines has already been extended twice and now stands until May 15th. Some measures may be relaxed after then, in areas where the virus appears under control.  But the overall lockdown is likely to be extended further.

Off the back of this, the Philippine economy has shrunk in Q1 2020 for the first time in 22 years.

Primex staff and management continue to work hard as they battle to bring production back up to date. Progress is being made; production is improving from about nine weeks behind to about seven weeks as of May 7th. However, with the lockdown still in place, it’s a daily struggle for supplies of raw nuts and to safely get staff to work.

We continue to work with Primex to produce and ship those most urgent orders.

We will do our best to inform clients at the earliest opportunity for production and shipments for their goods.

Supply and production capacity will likely be running at a lower rate into the summer.

Already we have seen significant orders for July, August & Sept, so with reduced production capacity, we will likely have to close off these positions shortly.

The main UK offices for TM Duché are closed on 8th May 2020 for a local Bank Holiday.