In the next fortnight, there will be a shortage of goods

Mumbai, Ta. 17 February 2020, Monday

In India, it is likely that in the next fortnight, goods such as medicine, auto parts, mobile phones and insecticides will be lacking due to trade activities stalled in China due to coronavirus.

Stating that the situation in China is getting serious, a government official added that the Indian government does not have enough time to increase the supply of essential goods from other countries.

While the crisis has caused the Indian government to rethink its supply chain, the government currently has no roadmap on how to address the proposed shortage.

In such a situation, India has the opportunity to increase its production capacity but in the short term it will not be possible, said the official.

Apart from the supply pull, the government is also considering how to ease import related processes. Measures will be taken to exempt the import of some goods from the documentation so that imports can be expedited, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaram said last week.

The official said the feasibility of which areas could be relieved and from which ports could be made possible. About 8% of India's imports of the top 5 goods are imported from China.

These include mobile handsets, medicine powders, computers, fertilizers and antibiotics.