When covid-19 came, nobody understood what the impact was going to be. For a moment, the global leaders concentrated on how to contain the virus so that less people are affected and infected. Their efforts led to many things like;
Closure of border moments
Closure of international and local flights
Cancellation of tournaments and events
Closure of offices and people working virtually
In the area of trade, Covid-19 impacted on trade so much. Globally, organizations suffered because of the Covid-19. These resulted in several effects to the global trade as discussed below.
a. Decline in export markets
Those doing export businesses were grounded. No movement of goods and services were allowed from one country to another. Organizations who do export business like those doing export of flowers, agricultural products, etc. suffered greatly due to lack of market.
For example, Chinese apparel exports and footwear exports declined by more than $1 billion during February, April and May of 2020 as compared to the same period in 2019. Car exports were down by billions in Spain, Canada, Japan, and the US. US delivery truck exports also went down by more than $1 billion in April and May, and reached normal levels only in July.
b. Effects on health sector
Those in health sector were also greatly affected. The medical supplies chain was affected. The cost of importing and exporting medical supplies went up making drugs and health services more expensive. Those who wanted to go for medical examination and treatment in other countries suffered due to closure of international flights.
e. Loss of key leaders
Sadly, some organization lost their leaders to the Covid-19 virus. This negatively impacted organizations that were faced with the prospect of reduced earning, loss of job and demise of key leaders.
d. Employment and income
Global trade survives because of the availability of income which comes from employment or business. With the pandemic, a lot of people lost their jobs while others got pay cut. Some businesses also had to close because their business model could not work during the pandemic. Several hotels closed operations and sent their employees home.
The consequence of reduced employment and income is that the global trade suffers from lack or less orders. Those who would have ordered for new vehicles or apparels reduced hence the global trade is impacted negatively.
What lessons can we draw from this pandemic?
As organization and individuals involve in trade, whether global or local, we need to be flexible.
Flexible in terms of how you render your services and also supply goods. Many organizations embrace ecommerce more than ever before. Many organizations opted to obtain orders online and process them virtually.