Delayed deliveries may hit profits of flower, food vendors
Some parcel deliveries to China’s capital of Beijing and other destinations in northern China are being delayed by a shortage of deliverymen and anti- epidemic measures, with some large logistics providers imposing a weight cap of 5 kilograms and doubling fees.
With the Spring Festival holidays – which generate explosive demand for everything from food to decorations – less than one week away, some industry insiders in such sectors as flowers and fresh food worry that the delays could affect their businesses or squeeze their profitability.
A flower supplier named Ken based in Kunming, capital of Southwest China’s Yunnan Province, told the Global Times on Monday that flower deliveries via SF from Kunming to other markets now stand at 40 tons a day, compared with 50- 60 tons in previous years. The decline is due to delivery problems.
“Although this year’s demand is relatively strong as more people are staying in first- tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou for the holiday, that’s offset by shipping problems,” said Ken.
He noted that Beijing is a difficult place to ship to because of disease control measures. More shipments than ever are being returned, he said.
According to Ken, some large logistics companies including SF won’t take packages that weigh more than 5 kilograms. Business- to- business services are running normally, but the cost has more than doubled.
A Beijing- based SF deliveryman surnamed Yan confirmed the 5- kilogram limit to the Global Times on Monday. Another SF customer said that Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei, has a weight limit of 3 kilograms. It’s not clear when the cap will be removed.
“The delay in parcels to Beijing and certain regions in North China ranges from three to seven days as all parcels must be disinfected. We don’t accept fresh food such as fruit and seafood, which spoil easily,” Yan said.
A customer service employee of Yunda Express said on Monday that it cannot guarantee the delivery time for parcels to Beijing. “In addition to anti- epidemic measures, we are also short of staff. I think about half of the deliverymen at our site went home for the holidays,” she noted.