According to the country’s 2021 economic survey, sub-sectors dealing in leather, beverages, motor vehicle, rubber and dairy products contracted. This was mainly due to the nature of their operations, which forced them to rely on different inputs for production. Other sectors, such as pharmaceutical products, sugar, non-metallic products, basic metals and processed foods, grew.
"Sub-sectors that registered major growth volume of output were sugar, other non-metallic mineral products such as cement, food products such as tea, chemical and chemical products and pharmaceutical products. Sugar production recovered from 10.2 percent drop in 2019 to a significant growth of 36.9 percent in 2020. The quantity of sugar produced rose from 440,900 tonnes in 2019 to 603,800 tonnes in 2020," the report stated.
Leather, beverages, motor vehicle, trailers and semi-trailers, rubber and dairy products sub-sectors were taking a hit as the pandemic ravaged their operations, causing huge job cuts and low production.
