New labelling requirements shut out small importers

Last ditch effort to make ‘sense’ prevail
ALAN PEAT
THE NEW “Made in ….” labelling requirements for imported clothes and textiles could put small street hawkers of clothing out of business, according to Bob Cummins of Avion Maritime Logistics.
“It appears that someone somewhere forgot all about the small importer who goes to the Far East and buys clothing in numerous tiny shops and then returns to SA and sells the small quantities to hawkers,” he said. “An exercise where both the persons buying the clothing and the hawker community make a living out of this business.”
The local clothing and textile industries face new regulations related to the marking of these products from May 23, according to the government gazette notice 2140 on changes to the Merchandise Marks Act of 1941.
Under these new rules any imported garment entering SA after May 23 needs to have a permanently affixed label stating its country of origin together with the importer’s registration number.
This might be all very well where large quantities are ordered, and the production runs are sufficiently large for the manufacturer to apply the appropriate labelling.
But, according to Cummins, this would prove near impossible when small quantities are being held by the back street retailers who supply the needs of SA buyers.
“Honestly,” he said, “how does SARS expect these tiny shops in the Far East to label the clothing. They are not manufacturers or wholesalers, but shops selling on a retail basis.
“It appears that this new restriction is being imposed without proper investigation as to the consequences.”
An answer, as Cummins sees it, would be to insist on labelling of import quantities above a certain weight breakpoint.
“For example,” he told FTW, “shipments of 1 000-kilograms or more could be purchased direct from the factory, and would be a sufficiently long production run to justify the extra cost of applying the labels.”
But his efforts to have things put right by the authorities have come to little avail.
When he discussed the issue with the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) at Gallagher Estate Cummins was told that the persons concerned should have objected when this restriction was published in the press.
“Really,” he said, “how many hawkers read the newspapers - never mind the government gazette.”
With the deadline having been this week, Cummins is now battling to make contacts at the department of trade and industry (dti) in the hopes that what he sees as “sense” might prevail.