Australian companies are feeling the effects of coronavirus (COVID-19) with about 15 per cent reportedly affected, according to Roy Morgan.
Since the coronavirus outbreak, the Australian Government halted all direct commercial flights to China in early February as the spread of COVID-19 in China is being monitored.
Around two-fifths of Manufacturers reported that business has been affected by the disease. The impact of coronavirus includes the issue of workers being quarantined and unable to attend work; the impact on supply lines for the import or export of goods and parts to and from China as well as lower foot traffic in stores.
“Already feeling the effects are Manufacturing businesses which rely on China for the importation of many parts… and Wholesale which imports many goods manufactured in China for sale at Australian retail outlets. We’ve already seen restaurants close due to the decline in customers particularly in places heavily reliant on Chinese-owned businesses such as Chinatown,” said Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine.
Importers have been the hardest hit as many products from China have been halted and delayed while to a lesser degree exporters are finding many of the markets in China are closed.
“It is hard to predict exactly how the full impact of the coronavirus will be felt in the Australian economy over the next few months although it’s safe to say that the negative economic ‘shock’ is set to grow after outbreaks of the virus have been seen in such diverse places as South Korea, Iran and Italy over the last few days,” said Levine.
The impact of the virus comes after over a quarter of Australian businesses (28 per cent) were affected by the bushfires over the last few months.
