- Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) firm Dabur India Ltd on Monday said it has temporarily suspended operations at around 60% to 70% of its units.
Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) firm Dabur India Ltd on Monday said it has temporarily suspended operations at around 60 percent to 70 percent of its manufacturing units in India as it is grappling with a strict lockdown in the country that has disrupted the movement of people and products here.
The Vatika hair oil manufacturer and Real Juices have 12 manufacturing units in India, to be sure.
In the public interest, the company said it would continue operating units supplying important items such as Ayurvedic medicines, Chyawanprash, hand sanitizers, and hand washings.
“COVID-19 resulted in an unusual situation where the government released notices of lockdowns across cities in order to ensure public safety. In compliance with the Government Directive, we temporarily halted production at our manufacturing units until 31 March 2020,” the company said in a statement Monday.
“The situation is still volatile and unpredictable, and the effect at this point in time is difficult to measure or calculate. Much will depend on the stabilization of the overall scenario resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic,” the company said in a filing to the stock exchange.
Manufacturers of fast-moving consumer goods, at least those producing critical goods such as packaged wheat, salt, sugar, pulses and cooking oil, along with personal hygiene products, have seen a rise in demand as shoppers stock up on these goods fearing longer shutdowns as India attempts to battle the highly infectious Coronaviruses.
Nevertheless, demand for non-essential luxury items is likely to be affected as fewer customers go out to buy these goods and stick to purchasing only what is required.
Additionally, extreme lockdowns declared in many states during the last two days have also left businesses in a bind. States and cities have encouraged people to limit their travel, even as they have called for the sealing of borders and prohibited the use of public transport.
Under such a situation, it turns out to be a difficult method for many businesses to bring workers to plants to maintain a daily supply of products.
However, Dabur has stepped up the development and supply of products such as Chyawanprash, Giloy, Honitus as well as quick-tracking the launch of hand sanitizers— a category that it entered last week. We’ve also improved e-commerce services, the firm said.
In addition, the organization has taken numerous steps for employee health at its corporate offices, including facilitating work from home, holding meetings by video conferencing, and enhancing premises sanitation, etc.
“We believe this disturbance is of an unprecedented and temporary nature. We expect the business to recover once the situation improves. We are planning to stay the course in terms of our strategy and operations and will continue to invest behind our brands and business,” the company added.
FMCG is taking the hit of coronavirus scare and people will be suffering in the coming times. After automobile and technology, FMCG is the latest to take the burn and we can only hope of better times to come.
