FinMin Nirmala Sitharaman allays fears of price rise due to coronavirus outbreak
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New Delhi, February 18: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has allayed fears of any price rise in short term due to supply disruption from China on account of Coronavirus outbreak. After meeting the industry and trade associations today, she assessed the impact of the virus on businesses, further assured that there is no shortage of raw material with industries as of now.
FM further said that a meeting of the concerned secretaries will be held tomorrow. She also assured the industry that she will speak to the PMO on steps to provide any relief.
H’ble FM @nsitharaman addressing media post the interactive session with stakeholders on Contextual Challenges & Opportunities in supply chain of exports & imports with a special focus on probable multisectoral response to the impact of the Coronavirus situation. @FinMinIndia pic.twitter.com/WiDsZr346l
— DFS (@DFS_India) February 18, 2020
Sectors like pharma and electronics are worst hit due to the outbreak in China as it has affected the supply of essential raw materials from the country. The supply disruption comes at a time when the economy is experiencing stress and inflation is on the way up.
FM @nsitharaman in #NewDelhi for an interactive session to discuss contextual challenges & opportunities in Supply Chain of exports & imports. A few glimpses of the event. @PMOIndia @FinMinIndia @PIB_India @Rajeevkumr @IndiaEximBank pic.twitter.com/zs8x6OG9Wv
— DFS (@DFS_India) February 18, 2020
The recently release official trade data reflected the impact of the epidemic on both exports and imports between India and China. India’s merchandise exports in January 2020 fell by 1.66% in January to $25.97 billion and imports dropped by 0.75% ($41.14 billion) on an annual basis amidst rising fear of global trade disruptions due to the spread of the coronavirus.