Economy reviving from COVID-19 blow: Official

New Delhi, August 10

The country’s economy is reviving from the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and this is visible from the performance of sectors such as FMCG and agriculture, Food and Public Distribution Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said on Monday.

He said that FMCG revenues have come back to almost 85 per cent of pre-COVID times, which is an important indicator.

“Indian agricultural output, which is roughly about USD 264 billion, is leading the recovery from the front,” he said at a Ficci webinar.

He said that this year during the Rabi crop, about 12 per cent more procurement has been done, which is almost 590 lakh metric tonnes.

It has pumped in more than Rs 1 lakh crore in farmers’ hand and the kharif procurement has broken all records.

“Sugarcane industry has put in another Rs 85,000 crore. So these three crops alone have put over Rs 3 lakh crore into rural India,” Pandey added.

He said that these indicators will help businesses position themselves to push the FMCG sector in rural areas.

He also said the food and beverage industry suffered some setback for the time being because of decline in commercial consumptions, but “its recovery is again on the anvil and we hope that the food and beverages will take charge”. PTI