Nestlé has received the green light from government officials in India to re-start production at all its factories in the country.
Last month, the Maggi maker said it had “scaled down or suspended” parts of its operations in India after parts of the country had implemented lockdown measures. Hours after Nestlé’s announcement, India’s Prime Minister, Narenda Modi, announced a nationwide lockdown for 21 days, a measure since extended to last until 3 May.
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Yesterday, the publicly-listed Nestlé India issued a stock-exchange filing that provided an update on its manufacturing network in the country.
“All the manufacturing locations have received permission to operate and are now operating at scaled-down levels,” Nestlé India said. “Most of the distribution centres/warehouses, suppliers are also operating at scaled-down levels.
“The scaled-down operations at various locations are essentially on account of applicable social distancing norms and the lesser deployment of people. The scaling up, scaling down or suspension of operations at various locations is dependent on the directions of the central and state governments and authorities.
Nestlé India added: “The company is closely monitoring the situation and will take all necessary measures as directed by the central and state Governments and authorities, from time to time. The impact on the operations of the company cannot be assessed at this point.”
In Nestlé’s group annual report for 2019, the company said it generated sales of CHF1.67bn (US$1.72bn) in India last year, up 9% when measured in Swiss francs. The company’s total sales were CHF92.57bn. India was Nestlé’s 13th largest market by sales last year.
Nestlé is set to report its first-quarter sales on Friday.
