The printing ink giant said it will continue to monitor its supply chain, including raw material and intermediate suppliers and logistics providers.

“Proactively managing our customer orders, inventory levels, in-transit shipments and open order levels is a critical path for us,” said Sun Chemical chief supply chain officer Jeffrey Shaw.

“We have established control teams to manage each of these areas and take the required precautions in order to prevent any supply disruptions. Specifically focusing on individual materials and suppliers will enable us to take any necessary precautions.

“At this time, our focus also includes materials from China and other high-risk regions that supply to us. We will continue to keep our customers updated during this process. Bottom line: we are committed to work through this process with our customers to make sure supply disruptions are minimised.”

The new strand of the virus, 2019 Novel Coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV, was first identified in Wuhan, China. At the time of writing it is believed to have infected more than 30,000 people and accounted for over 630 deaths.

The spread of the virus has had a significant impact on the Chinese economy, with many citizens avoiding activities and areas they believe may expose them to risk of infection, such as shops, restaurants, cinemas and public transport.

Exports have also been affected, with some international buyers becoming more reluctant to purchase products from China.