사진 확대

In the aftermath of the Middle East war, four out of 10 small and medium-sized companies' inventory has fallen to a level that does not last a month.

According to the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business on the 2nd, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business conducted a survey on 410 small and medium-sized companies receiving raw materials from May 15 to 31, and 36.1% (148 companies) of small and medium-sized companies said they had "less than a month" to last with their current inventory. In addition, 65.9% of SMEs surveyed said they hold inventory "less than 70%" of the usual appropriate inventory level.

The survey focused on companies using petrochemical raw materials and non-ferrous metals, construction and civil materials, and electrical and electronic components that are directly affected by the Middle East crisis.

As for the impact (multiple responses) on SMEs' production activities after the situation in the Middle East, "increased cost burden" was the highest at 94.6%. In addition, the "shortage of raw material supplies" also reached 80.7%, indicating that cost increases and supply instability are occurring at the same time.

According to a survey of the average purchase unit price of major raw materials compared to the end of February this year, 71.9% of the companies responded that the purchase unit price rose by more than 20%. In particular, 31.4% of companies using "packaging materials, films, and paper" said they soared more than 80%, confirming that they are under the most serious cost pressure. This is more than twice the overall average (15.1%).

A company that manufactures film and packaging materials said, "Large companies are unilaterally notifying the price increase without specific price calculation standards or prior consultation," adding, "The price of certain raw materials such as linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) rose from 1.5 million won to 2.8 million won per ton, and small and medium-sized companies that lack funds are completely pushed out of the competition to secure raw materials and are concerned about production disruptions."

If the situation in the Middle East continues for more than three months, the response plan (multiple responses) was "other" (54.2%) and "reducing operations" (39.8%). Of these, 204 out of 222 companies that responded with "others" answered that there was "no separate plan," indicating that 49.7% of all responding companies had no countermeasures against the prolonged situation in the Middle East.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (30.0%) answered that "strengthening monitoring of raw material prices and supply conditions" as a policy that the government should pursue first. It was followed by "support for adjusting the unit price of delivery and using the delivery price linkage system" (23.7%), "support for finding alternative raw materials and import sources" (17.3%), and "support for emergency management stabilization funds" (12.4%).

"Small and medium-sized enterprises are suffering from production disruptions and financial difficulties due to unilateral price hikes and supply restrictions by large suppliers amid the supply chain shock in the Middle East," said Kim Hee-joong, head of the economic policy division of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Businesses. "The government should closely check the pricing and supply conditions of raw materials companies and agencies of large companies, and strengthen monitoring so that support for raw materials companies can lead to stability in the supply of small and medium-sized enterprises."