The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the whole planet with its major impacts on the economy and businesses across the globe. The COVID-19 spread worldwide in unprecedented ways due to its high infectious and contagious nature and lack of availability of its vaccine. As a result, the greatest medical challenge in the 21st century is yet to be faced by physicians worldwide. Though the emergence of the virus can be traced back to Asia, many European countries along with the U.S. have been struck massively by the pandemic. The virus has spread across all regions ranging from North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and Africa up to South America. The COVID-19 has been declared as a pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO) due to its increased spread across the globe. After the declaration of the pandemic, various countries announced the complete lockdown such as India, China, and other Asian countries to decrease its spread. According to the situation report of 27th October 2021 by WHO stated 244.3 million cases of the corona have been reported globally and 4.9 million patients are dead due to the coronavirus. On a slightly positive note, a total of 6.7 billion vaccine doses have been administered as well.
The COVID-19 pandemic has a neutral effect on the global Sulphur fertilizer market significantly. The persistence of COVID-19 has slightly affected the supply and demand chain as it got disrupted due to the restricted movement due to the imposition of lockdown by the government in various regions.
However, the demand for Sulphur fertilizers is rising post-pandemic, as the demand for agriculture commodities has been increased which is expected to drive the market post-pandemic.
Impact On the Demand of Sulphur Fertilizer Market
Fertilizer demand has always been strong; as the annual application is required to maintain yields. Predicting growth for the 2020–2021 agricultural year and beyond may be more difficult than usual due to the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic, as most world economies were forced to follow government-mandated measures that disrupted the food chain and supply networks, affecting the global Sulphur fertilizer industry. However, the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) predicts a small increase in demand. The increased usage of fertilizers in crop production to meet rising food demand is driving global demand. Farmers would be able to generate only half of the current world food output if mineral fertilizer which includes Sulphur were not available.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for food and biofuels was drastically decreased due to volatile foreign exchange rates and the extended lockdowns in the whole world. The world economy was disrupted due to the disruption of market demand and supply. The agricultural practices were stopped during lockdown hence the demand was decreased to some extent. But as Sulphur fertilizers are an essential commodity for agricultural practices, farmers could not directly stop the use of Sulphur fertilizers.
IMPACT ON THE PRICE OF SULPHUR FERTILIZER MARKET
Prices of Sulphur fertilizer have been decreased slightly as the prices of agricultural commodities have decreased slightly as a result of the breakdown of COVID -19, particularly after May-2019. As the virus spreads rapidly, many local and small players have exited the market. For many vendors, the savings are insufficient to maintain the business at such a low cost and with such little demand. Many companies are losing critical revenue sources, and service outlets are closing or supplying less. Some businesses have shut down their manufacturing plants to reduce the risk of COVID -19.
The prices are rising in 2021, due to the strong demand from the key crop-growing regions, and rising agricultural commodity prices, such as corn and soybeans.
IMPACT ON THE SUPPLY CHAIN OF THE GLOBAL SULPHUR FERTILIZER MARKET
The COVID-19 crisis has a resilience effect on the Sulphur fertilizers market and its supply chain across the world. Due to the persistence of the COVID-19, lockdown restrictions were implied all around the world which disturbed the supply chain of the Sulphur fertilizer products and their ingredients but manufacturers maintained the resilience of the supply chain during the pandemic.
Also, the restriction movement hit the supply of global manufacturers which made it difficult for them to supply their products in the global market. With the COVID-19 outbreak, initially, the demand for Sulphur fertilizers was slightly decreased but it has come back to normal due to the use of fertilizers in crop production to meet the growing demand for food.
STRATEGIC INITIATIVES BY MANUFACTURERS
With the steady demand for Sulphur fertilizers, the manufacturers are taking new initiatives for Sulphur fertilizers availability even during COVID-19 time. The government is taking various initiatives for Sulphur fertilizers during COVID-19.
For instance,
- The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers of India has allocated a team for preparing road maps to achieve and reform the higher growth in the fertilizers sector in a medium to long-run period. “Also to deal with the turbulent situation arising out of COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers D V Sadananda Gowda, Minister of State Mansukh Mandaviya, and Secretary Department of Fertilizers Chhabilendra Raul are closely monitoring and reviewing the production and distribution activities of fertilizers in the country,” an official statement said
- Seipasa, the Spanish company specialized in the development and formulation of bio pesticides, biostimulants, and fertilizers for agriculture, and Fitesa, the firm specializing in the sale of plant protection products, special fertilizers, seeds for agriculture, organic products, and zero-residue products, have joined forces to carry out the donation of more than 3,000 kilos of vegetables that will go to families and groups of people most affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
Thus, the initiatives taken by the governments to develop products to fulfill the rising demand for Sulphur fertilizers are expected to boost the growth of the market.
Conclusion
Pandemic has taken a toll on every aspect of life, including the global economy. With the significant downfalls in many sectors, a collaborative effort of government, industry players, and consumers can win the fight against COVID-19. The general public health measures include awareness about home isolation, keeping up with the food and medical supplies, particularly for underprivileged people, carefully followed by governments worldwide. During these pandemic circumstances, consumer awareness about high immunity has become a legitimate concern.
Consumers have been shifting their buying presences from offline to online retails to maintain social distancing. Lockdown, mostly all over the world, has resulted in disruption in the supply and demand chain. All Sulphur fertilizer companies have to suffer from various problems such as labor unavailability, inability to access markets, and lack of resources & raw material, but the situation is improving as the restrictions have been lifted in many countries and the supply chain issues have been sorted out. Therefore, the Sulphur fertilizers market is supposed to grow at a significant rate in the coming years owing to the improvements in the supply chain.
