A pandemic can disturb any country’s economy. There is a very important link between the economy and all the goods that the country deals in. It could be supplied all across the country or something that is traded among the other countries. But the impact can be very serious, particularly when it comes to demand and supply functions.
This is the reason why keeping up with the commodities trade during such severe situations is essential. We hope that this article will benefit our readers in some way.
Some basic commodities and their respective market situations during a pandemic are discussed below, which will give you an insight into why they play a key role.
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The food and agriculture commodities-
This is one such industry that stays pretty strong unless there are disruptive natural disasters that could ruin all the crops at once. Cereals, pulses, etc. are something which all of us consume no matter whatever the condition is as it is a bare-minimum requirement of every individual. The Agricultural sector is usually a major player in the country’s economy.
This sector also includes beverages like tea and coffee and also includes dairy and poultry. These are quintessential, and hence, regardless of any technological hindrance or external disturbances like in this case, a pandemic, remain in good supply. Their demand elasticity and supply elasticity is at a unitary point, and they somehow make a mark in the market.
But, this also has its negative part. Industries that produce insecticides and pesticides do not function very actively during such a period. This makes the availability of insecticides and pesticides comparatively less, and indirectly; this might adversely affect crop production.
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Demand for oils and metals gets disturbed-
When there are such economic recessions, the demand for oils and metals severely drops down. Oils, fuels, or energy-based products are preferred less, and metals during such situations are barely noticed. This becomes a very serious issue of concern for oil exporters. Being a very major part of the economy, it affects the fiscal revenue suddenly and abruptly.
Not just the Government undertakings face losses, but everyone, including the intra-country investors and the Foreign Direct Investors, faces the consequences. When seen as an aggregate of everything, this can disturb the stock market on the parallel.
This makes commodities trade during a pandemic a very vulnerable topic. If this persists for a real long-term, serious effects could be seen not just industry-vise but also geographically and in consideration of the consumer preferences. Such a situation burdens the economic policymakers and also the Government to redirect alternatives or solutions.
If not handled with caution and care, everything ranging from the microeconomic to macroeconomic level can be adversely affected. This not just leads to a country’s problems but also adds-up a load for its future.
CONCLUSION-
There is no doubt that a pandemic hurts the economy. It has affected the commodities market at the domestic as well as the global scale. However, this article is concentrated on explaining to you why the commodities trade of a country plays a vital role even during extensively threatening situations like a pandemic.
While there is a big question mark already linked to human survival ratios and other human development indices, if there is a disturbance in such vital areas, things could become worse and eventually very difficult to tackle.
We hope that this article would help the readers get a basic idea about Commodity trade and how it is affected during a pandemic.
