Food Supply Is the Next Virus Headache
Coronavirus pandemic is disrupting everything in the world, the supply chains are in shock, and logistics are facing all sorts of issues. The countries around the globe are coming to a halt in order to prevent the spread of this virus. Just like all the industries, the food industry is also greatly affected by this. The food supply networks of the world are under a great threat, with food shippers limiting the shipments and food distributors having a hard time to find the proper distribution networks, the situation is not looking good. The situation is not as bad as the food inflation of 2011 but it can still get worse and we have to take measures to avoid that as much as possible.
The countries have locked everything down and are limiting the exports to preserve the stock for their own population. The countries like Kazakhstan have stopped the export of wheat, Vietnam has stopped the export of rice. They are taking all the measures to preserve their own food industry. While the United States is self-sufficient for the time being, the conditions will test the food manufacturers and the food distributors. To worsen the situation, the crop production is also at risk with the swarms of locusts are more likely to hit agricultural countries like India, Pakistan etc. They have the potential to lessen the crop production in the world. While the situation is under check, it can change in an instant if not properly taken care of. The prices are rising significantly and people are rushing to hoard the food for their families, it can create the shortage of food very quickly.
Food industry, especially the food shippers and the food distributors are facing more problems with the issues caused by virus restrictions. The logistics are not ideal, the cross-continent shipping is almost nonexistent. Not only that, there is a shortage of workers as they are advised to stay at home. There are measures that should be taken in order to avoid the global shortage of food, for example; the preemptive policies which discourage hoarding, and fair trade can lead to decrease in the prices. Another useful thing to do is incorporating the use of software like food ERP. Food ERPs are developed by keeping the food industry in mind. They can help manage the available resources for us, and can help us find the key areas to focus on, rather than randomly focusing on the relatively menial stuff. The disruptions in the food industry can’t be avoided, but measures like these can help us to avoid the mass food crisis.
