Coronavirus impact: FMCG distributors seek relief from sales targets

The increasing buying activity playing out in the market over the last few days has put severe pressure on the FMCG distributor community. Owing to the Coronavirus outbreak, people have been stocking up on essentials in the food and personal hygiene space.

"Work hours have multiplied for us because of the high demand for packaged foods. We have told the field staff to wear masks and operate," said a distributor.

FMCG distributors are appealing to companies to regulate product wise sales growth targets. Packaged food items like biscuits, noodles, etc. make up only 15-20 percent of revenues for distributors. Therefore in these situations, the demand for these products has gone up. "All we are asking companies to do is to regulate sales growth targets for products. There should be no compulsion for distributors to buy products that are not selling in the market at this point," said a distributor.