Dairy sector was largely unaffected, while livestock sector reported losses as consumption declined
India’s agriculture business sector which has been deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in the first half of 2020 (H1 20) is expected to rebound in the second half (H2 20) according to analytics firm Fitch Solutions. The full nationwide lockdown imposed by the government from March 25 to April 30 brought all activities to a complete halt.
Even though restrictions were slowly eased from May in different states, production and trade has been disrupted due to transportation restrictions and labour shortages. While the dairy sector has remained steady, business in the livestock sector has declined mainly because of drop in consumption.
Trade, in general, has decreased significantly in H1 20, especially with rice and sugar exports and palm oil imports. But it is expected to rebound strongly in H2 20 as demand increases due to low stock and lower international prices. Overall, Fitch expects total trade volume of 2020 to be in line with that of 2019 or even lesser because of how trade was impacted in H1 20.
