• Friday, March 29, 2024
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Agric, telecoms, home/personal care to post strong growth amid coronavirus outbreak – Agusto & Co.

agric sector

The effect of the global coronavirus pandemic is causing uncertainty in Nigeria’s business environment, with economic activities in Africa’s largest economy almost at a standstill due to the lockdown imposed on states and the Federal Capital Territory to curb the spread of the virus.

The “pandemic’s effects on economic activities and businesses in Nigeria will be dire”, according to Agusto & Co., and the bottom line of most businesses in the country is expected to head south, but the Lagos-based consulting firm sees opportunities for some of the country’s industries.

“We believe a few industries are set for strong growth as a result of the pandemic,” Agusto & Co. said in a recent publication ‘COVID-19 in Nigeria: Economic Perspectives and Mitigating the Risks’.
Agusto & Co. projects the agricultural sector, telecommunications, and home and personal care industry will post strong growth on the back of the lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and FCT coupled with the surge in work-from-home activity.

Agricultural sector
The increasing spate of a lockdown in Nigeria brings the subject of food security to the core and Agusto & Co. believes the agricultural sector will leverage the rush for food to post strong growth.

It said “grains and other staples (particularly locally grown rice)” are mostly “in a strong position to grow as food demand spikes from panic buying”.
The Federal Government recently announced that all markets in states where a lockdown was imposed would be allowed to open between 10 am and 2pm daily so that residents can buy food items.
“For markets, only shops and stalls selling food and groceries shall be allowed to open to customers between the hours of 10:00 am and 2:00 pm,” Aliyu Sani, national co-coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, said.

Telecommunications industry
Growth in Nigeria’s telecommunication industry is expected to be fuelled by a surge in work-from-home activity caused by the deadly coronavirus, the increasing search for news online as many await the news of a possible cure to the novel virus, and the use of airtime for voice calls (as many are frequently checking up on their loved ones).

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“Working remotely implies that several white-collar professionals will consume more internet data for work and virtual meetings leading to a spike in demand for data,” Agusto & Co. said.

The consulting firm also expects that more telecoms consumers (beyond the white-collar professionals) will spend more time on social media and other streaming apps at this time.

“We believe these trends will help drive growth in the telecommunications industry in 2020 through to 2021,” it said.
Data by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) show that the country’s telecommunications industry has a reach of 86 percent, and with 182.7 million customers, the industry has the single largest customer base in the country.

Home and personal care industry
Agusto & Co. expects the home and personal care industry, especially for those who have been able to adapt rapidly to the spike in demand for hand wash and sanitisers, to record growths in revenue.
“The grocery-focused supermarkets also represent a bright spot for the times. The rush to stock up on groceries by households has been the major driver of growth for this segment of the economy,” it said.

Patronage of items like hand sanitisers, disinfectants, hand-washing soaps and gloves increased on request in most cities in Nigeria as many adopted preventive measures. The trend has remained unchanged since Nigeria reported its first coronavirus case in February.