Industry inching slowly to reach pre-Covid production levels

Almost 70% of the respondents now have visibility of their revival over next three to twelve months.

Industries in and around Pune are gradually returning to pre-Covid production levels. Around 55% of the industries are likely to take another three to nine months to get back to pre-Covid January 2020 production levels. Pharma and food processing companies have already touched the pre-Covid production levels. A survey done by the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (MCCIA) in August, covering more than 100 companies in Pune district, including micro, small, medium and large scale units, shows that 5% of the respondents have already achieved the pre-Covid levels of production, which were mostly pharma and food processing companies. Around 15% of the respondents expect their production levels to go back to the January 2020 levels in less than three months. Another 15% say this could take more than nine months, the survey said.

Almost 70% of the respondents now have visibility of their revival over next three to twelve months. “As the economy opens up fully post lockdown, chances of recovery are good. The demand has started to pick up especially in sectors like retail, pharmaceutical, agriculture and we expect credit growth to improve substantially from Q3 onwards, said AS Rajeev, MD & CEO, Bank of Maharashtra.

More than half of the companies surveyed were micro and small units while 15% were medium and large companies. Around 57% companies were from the manufacturing sector, 25% from the services sector and the rest were involved in both manufacturing and services. The average production levels reached by these companies by August 2020 was at 50%. The number of employees working in the surveyed companies has gone up from 47% in July to 56% in August 2020.