Coronavirus may make medicines,phones, and auto parts expensive

credit: Reuters

At present India is the second-largest producer of steel with an annual output of over 106 million tonnes after China which accounts for 928 MT. The coronavirus outbreak can cause global steel crisis and the impact can last for 2-3 years, said Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

A Reuters report mentioned that 90% of China’s ports that ship the raw material are located in regions impacted by the virus. “Apart from the impact on steel prices, the other problem could be in the supply of spare parts for the steel sector. Much of the spare parts come from China,” a senior executive from one of the Indian steel companies told Moneycontrol.

Indian pharma industry imports about ₹17,000 crore worth of active pharmaceutical ingredients from China every month. There are worries that as shortage builds, these prices will go up. During the meeting with Sithraman, pharma companies requested the government to consider airlifting of API supplies from China, in order to avoid shortages.

“There are no concerns about price rise (of medicines) so far. There is no report of shortage of masks and medicines in Indian hospitals. In fact, there was a demand from those who manufacture medical devices to remove the ban on exports,” Sitharaman said on the impact of coronavirus.

The spread of the deadly coronavirus has rattled the mobile industry in India. Be it Apple or Vivo— almost all brands have manufacturing units in China. India imports mobile phone components worth ₹7,000-8,000 crore from China every month and a break in imports might affect the prices of phones in the country.

Coronavirus has had a sharp impact on productivity, as offices and factories across China halted operations after the outbreak.