Chinese New Year 2020: tips for importers

3 February 2020

Update: Extension of Chinese New Year due to Coronavirus

In order to prevent the further outbreak and spread of the Coronavirus, the Chinese State Agency has announced an extension to the holidays around the Chinese New Year. With the exception of Hong Kong, an extension of 7 days has been set. This means that work will resume on 10 February. For Hong Kong this will be on 3 February. This of course also has implications for trade with China.

In earlier reports we warned of extra pressure on shipping capacity because the Chinese New Year is almost seamlessly linked to the peak season. The outbreak of the Coronavirus and the extension of the New Year’s holiday further aggravate this situation. Because factories will now also remain closed for a longer period of time, the production of goods will lag too. Importers therefore unfortunately have to take additional shipment delays into account.

Of course we will keep you informed about further important developments in China. If you have any questions about your shipment, you can of course always contact your Ritra Cargo contact person.

Notice 27 November 2019

Chinese New Year 2020: tips for importers

On 25 January 2020, the year of the Rat begins for the Chinese. This also marks the start of the Chinese New Year, which will last until 8 February. This holiday causes a shortage of shipping capacity every year. It is therefore important to take this into account as an importer.

Chinese New Year close to peak season

The first day of Chinese New Year is different every year, but is always somewhere between 21 January and 20 February. In 2020, the Chinese New Year will be celebrated from Saturday 25 January to Saturday 8 February. And that’s quite early. This means that the Chinese New Year fits in almost seamlessly with the peak season that runs from December to January. And that could well cause additional capacity problems.

Weeks of pressure on shipping capacity

The festivities around the Chinese New Year last two weeks. This is the most important and longest holiday period in China. Moreover, many Chinese citizens extend this holiday period by a few days. As a result, many organisations have to deal with minimal staffing levels in the weeks before and after the Chinese New Year. All this has a major impact on imports and exports.

We therefore advise you to take the Chinese New Year into account in your planning. And even more than usual this time, as the peak season is very close to it. So place your bookings on time to avoid problems with shipping capacity. This will prevent your shipment from being unable to sail on the scheduled date of departure and from being delayed.

Planning to and from Asia

Countries in Asia have many more holidays than the Netherlands. So on a regular basis, work there is suspended for one or more days. If you are not aware of this, it can cause serious issues with your planning schedules.

In order to help customers with their planning, Ritra Cargo has developed the Holiday Calendar for Production Countries. It contains all holidays in Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. Every year, our agents provide us with the exact data, which we process in the Holiday Calendar. You’ll not find such a reliable and user-friendly overview anywhere else.

Download the 2019 Holiday Calendar for Production Countries immediately (2020 version available soon).