{"id":449039,"date":"2020-12-19T21:20:22","date_gmt":"2020-12-19T21:20:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/?p=449039"},"modified":"2020-12-19T21:30:33","modified_gmt":"2020-12-19T21:30:33","slug":"undp-moldova-report-impact-of-covid-19-on-economic-sectors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/undp-moldova-report-impact-of-covid-19-on-economic-sectors\/","title":{"rendered":"UNDP Moldova report: Impact of COVID-19 on economic sectors"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 4<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\u201cSocial and Economic Impact of COVID-19 in the Republic of Moldova\u201d<\/strong> is a report<\/a> that presents the findings of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Moldova study conducted during the period end-May \u2013 beginning of October 2020. The report aims at \u201cshedding light on the consequences and impact of the crisis and proposing tactical and medium-term policy and programmatic options for recovery and resilience,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0as it is mentioned on the\u00a0official page<\/a>\u00a0of UNDP Moldova.<\/p>\n

The assessment was conducted using data of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), a survey of Magenta Consulting, as well as a part of the UNDP study conducted during August-September 2020 among 390 citizens and 450 companies. The report recommendations are used to develop post-COVID-19 recovery measures and programmes by UNDP Moldova and can serve as guidance for public authorities in the policy-making process, as Deputy Secretary-General of the Government of Moldova, Adrian Ermurachi,\u00a0suggested<\/a>.<\/p>\n

See also:<\/strong> UNDP Moldova report: Impact of COVID-19 on the most vulnerable people<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The second part of the current report includes an analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic influence on five economic sectors in Moldova – non-food wholesale and retail trade, transportation and storage, hospitality, manufacturing and agriculture, as well as healthcare services along with education system as core public services.<\/p>\n

First of all, the non-food wholesale and retail trade sector<\/strong><\/span> encountered supply issues and a decrease in production and non-food goods consumption, due to demand decline. 88% of study respondents, who are working in this sector, declared that no government support was received during state of emergency and state of medical emergency generated by Covid-19. When asked about what would have helped, most of the respondents claimed that fiscal and financial incentives related to already existing loans and debts would have helped them overcome the crisis, as the UNDP infographic<\/a> presented.<\/p>\n

Moving part of the trade activity towards online channels was one of the main challenges in this sector, due to the reduced internet penetration at country level and reduced pre-COVID-19 digitization level of companies.<\/p>\n

The transportation and storage<\/strong><\/span> sector had to undergo a massive dropdown both in transported passengers and goods, as well as a decrease of employees with 15.7% (in the second quarter of 2020 as compared to the similar period of 2019). As compared to July 2019, the passengers\u2019 traffic was reduced by almost 49% in 2020.<\/p>\n

Most of the study participants from this sector also believed that the Government should have been implemented measures related to fiscal
\nincentives, as well as commercial promotion on the domestic and foreign markets in terms of donors support.<\/p>\n

The hardest hit though, was registered for accommodation and food services <\/strong><\/span>sector. Due to the lockdown measures,\u00a0most hospitality venues were forced to close in spring.<\/p>\n

In the second quarter of 2020, the number of Moldovan tourists travelling abroad decreased by almost 100%, whilst the internal tourism recorded a downturn of 66%. The number of overnights at accommodation units had a total decrease of 70% as compared to the similar period of 2019. Also, the average number of employees decreased with more than 60%, the report states. The most affected were hospitality employees working in urban areas. Some businesses adapted quickly, providing catering services to economic sectors with rising demand (healthcare system) and to vulnerable people (subsidized by local authorities). Some restaurants offered the alternative of online and phone orders, as well as pick-up or home delivery.<\/p>\n

At the same time, more than 30 000 employees in the manufacturing<\/strong><\/span> sector were impacted by the COVID-19 restrictions. 53% of companies stopped their activity during the pandemic and 7% of companies have applied for insolvency protection. Sales in this sector were influenced by the dynamic of the external markets, recording a massive dropdown during the lockdown period (March-April), with a negative peak in April, with almost 50% decrease linked to quarantine period in the EU states, the UNDP report said.<\/p>\n

Prolonged drought in combination with poor irrigation infrastructure system, lack of technical expertise and concentrated risks to one type of agricultural product represented the biggest issues faced by agriculture<\/strong><\/span> in Moldova. As a consequence, vegetal production decreased by 26.8% in the first semester of 2020. 8% of companies have applied for insolvency protection. Also, the exports for oil seeds and oleaginous fruits decreased by 30.1%, cereals and cereal based products by 16.4%, raw and processed tobacco by 67.3%, milk products and poultry eggs by 39.7%, meat and meat products by 40.6%.<\/p>\n

Poor rural farmers and small-scale food producers from Moldova got even more restricted by the pandemic conditions, as they didn’t get the chance to access internal or external markets in order to sell their products.<\/p>\n

The situation is deplorable in the healthcare system<\/strong>, where 53 medical units were involved in the anti-COVID-19 network all over the country. “<\/em><\/span><\/span>The medical personnel is overwhelmed and exposed to burnout in day-to-day activities and towards the infection,”<\/em> the report stated. Out of the almost 5 000 healthcare workers who were diagnosed with COVID-19 until Sep 2020, 43.7% were registered nurses, 26.4% were physicians, 18% – licensed practical nurses and 11.9% – auxiliary personnel.<\/p>\n

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the education<\/strong><\/span> system for an entire generation. It negatively influenced the ability of many parents to go to work and emphasized the fact that digital abilities can’t be enriched overnight. Limited access to internet and devices of teachers and pupils placed a big obstacle in the learning process as well.<\/p>\n

The policy recommendations, targeting economic sectors were as following:<\/em><\/p>\n