Novel Coronavirus: Indian logistics caught at the centre of the outbreak
February 10, 2020: Though with three cases reporting from Kerala, the penetration of Novel Coronavirus into the sub-continent is less when the death toll rising close to 1000 and infections around 40,000 in China, the impact of the outbreak on Indian industry, logistics and exports are inevitable.
February 10, 2020: Though with three cases reporting from Kerala, the penetration of Novel Coronavirus into the sub-continent is less when the death toll rising close to 1000 and infections around 40,000 in China, the impact of the outbreak on Indian industry, logistics and exports are inevitable.
The virus has already adversely impacted the global supply chain due to halted industrial activities in the second largest global economy and countries restricting their ships and airplanes from going to China.
“China is a big global supplier of television panels, LED chips, compressors for refrigerators and air-conditioners, motors etc. Since China runs a trade surplus against major economies—like US and India—it is bound to have a larger impact on both trade and domestic industry. India’s exports to China stood at $16.8 billion for FY19, while imports stood at $70.3 billion indicating the impact that coronavirus will have on Indian industry,” reports Sunday Guardian Live.
Since Indian industries like pharmaceuticals, electronics and automobile rely heavily on Chinese raw materials, the supply chain disruption will affect these industries and their export.
While on the other side reports suggest that at least in so sectors including textiles and home, coronavirus is an opportunity, as buyers may turn to India to buy these products instead of China.
“In the past 10 days or so, Indian manufacturers and exporters of such goods have received an increasing number of enquiries — mostly from the US and the European Union — seeking to replace China as a supplier,” reports Economic Times.
India-China cargoes till July 2019
According to the July report of China Customs, electronic items, electrical equipment, organic chemicals, plastics and fertilizers are the main cargoes that China exports to India while Indian exports to China included organic chemicals, cotton, plastics, fish and crustaceans, electrical machinery, iron and steel, and coffee, tea, mate and spices.