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COVID-19 impact on Nepalese industry

May 22, 2020
The manufacturing industry, travel and tourism, construction, wholesaler and retailer, remittance and agriculture are the six pillars of Nepal that are supporting the country's economy. As of 2018, the manufacturing industry contributed 6.5%, travel and tourism contributed 7.9%, construction contributed 10.3%, wholesaler and retailer contributed 23.1%, remittance  28.56% and agriculture 25.29% respectively have contributed to the country's GDP.

But in 2019-2020, the manufacturing industry, travel and tourism and remittance sectors seem to be hit hard due to COVID-19 and we are all aware of this. Similarly, the construction and wholesaler and retailer sectors have also been hit hard, while the least hit sector has been agriculture. From these figures, it can be understood that COVID-19 has hit all sectors, which contribute the most to the country's GDP.

COVID-19 seems to have affected various industries in Nepal in a variety of ways. The list of industries that have been negatively affected due to COVID-19 and is in struggling mode in the current situation are:
  • Aviation
  • Travel and Tourism
  • Remittance
  • Automotive
  • Hospitality and Restaurants
  • Construction and Real Estate (Material, Equipment and Services)
  • Textile
  • Capital Goods Manufacturing
  • Personal Services
  • Traditional Media: Print.
The list of industries that have suffered marginal impact and currently in surviving mode are:
  • Agriculture
  • Utilities
  • Logistics
  • Traditional Media: TV
  • IT Services
  • Traditional Retail Outlets
  • Pharmaceuticals
And the list of positively impacted industries which are currently thriving mode are:
  • Digital Media and Online Gaming
  • Telecom and Internet Providers
  • Digital Services
  • Video Conferencing services
  • Online Learning
  • Digital Payment Portals
  • Food and Consumables
  • E-Retail and
  • Doorstep deliveries
  • Healthcare Services
  • Healthcare Devices and Equipment.
Judging by the response of the governments of Nepal and other countries of Asia, Nepal has not done any difference compared to other Asian countries but it can be seen that it has lagged behind compared to others in some terms. Nepal has done closure of school which other countries have done too, Nepal restricted assembly which other countries also have done, Nepal has done non-essential business closure which other countries have also done, Nepal has done international travel restrictions which other countries have also done, Nepal restricts domestic travel which was done by other countries too except Japan and Singapore, Nepal did restrict non-essential local movement which was done by other countries except Japan and Singapore, Nepal and Bangladesh did not perform active testing on containment zone which all other countries performed. Nepal did not respond to the building strong health care that all other countries did, and in the end, Nepal could not control the economic damage that all other countries did.

We are aware that tourism has collapsed and remittances are at high risk. The coming days will tell which sector will flourish. Now is the time to pave the way for the coming days which should come from a higher body.

 Video URL:https://youtu.be/mYm60oazv3o