Colombian businesses face sharp drop in sales, employee cuts amid coronavirus lockdown

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Nearly 95 percent of Colombian businesses surveyed by the chamber of commerce guild have seen sales drop more than 50 percent amid quarantine measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, the guild revealed on Tuesday.

Companies' chief concerns for the coming months include falling sales, paying their employees, unemployment, an increase in coronavirus cases, non-payment by clients, availability of raw materials and an increase in taxes, according to the questionnaire.

In the survey by the Confederation of Chambers of Commerce(Confecamaras), some 12.4% of the 9,070 respondents - including businesses of different sizes - have also made workforce cuts.

Furthermore, 11.7% sent workers on early vacations, 10.9% of workers are working from home and 8.5% have had contracts temporarily suspended.

Around 17% of businesses have temporarily shut, while 12.8% have requested credit to keep operating and some 9% of businesses have closed down. Just 4.8% of businesses have adopted no measures.

Additionally, 94.2% of entrepreneurs said sales have fallen more than 50% since the quarantine took effect.

The government of President Ivan Duque declared a mandatory quarantine in March, which is set to last until April 27, to control the spread of the coronavirus, which has infected more than 2,800 people in Colombia and left at least 112 dead.

While 94% of business owners think the lockdown is necessary to contain the crisis, they said it is important for the government to prioritize decisions on taxes - whether to defer or extend payments - financing, and measures to reduce costs of labor and operations.

“Businesses need credit to maintain their operations before they decide to close,” Confecamaras President Julian Dominguez said in a statement.

If current conditions prevail and measures to contain the coronavirus are prolonged indefinitely, 84.2% of the companies surveyed estimate they could survive using their own resources for between one and two months. Some 11.4% could continue to operate for between three and four months, while the remainder could last from five months to a year.

The International Monetary Fund estimates Colombia's economy will contract 2.4% this year, well under the 5.2% contraction estimated for Latin America as a whole.

The region has been hit by a global collapse in prices for key commodities amid widespread travel restrictions and quarantines meant to contain coronavirus.