It was the coronavirus outbreak that slashed Slovakia's industrial production in March of this year by 19.6 percent year-on-year - mainly its consumer part, and car sales in particular - according to L'ubomir Koršňák, an analyst for UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia. He noted that as much as 53 percent of the overall industrial slump in March was down to the automotive industry, a key sector for Slovakia. "Only food producers preserved a moderate year-on-year growth (0.8 percent), which was driven by an increase in demand for food due to the stockpiling efforts of households in early March; and producers of electric devices, who nevertheless saw a significant slowdown in their annual growth from the two-digit figures of around 20 percent in previous months to 4.9 percent in March," said Koršňák.
After certain measures aimed at containing the spread of novel coronavirus are gradually lifted, it will take a while - meaning several months - for European and Slovak industry to return to normal," said Koršňák, adding that the speed of the recovery will depend on the economic measures adopted by individual governments in order to preserve their industries and the economic activities of households. "However, we estimate that Slovakia's industrial output will be two digits in the red during the next few months, and there will probably be no return to the black this year," concluded Koršňák.
