World Grain - April 2020 - 24

Industry vows to keep producing equipment, commodities,
feed and food staples as pandemic sweeps the world

by Susan Reidy, Chris Lyddon and David McKee

some of the hardest hit areas of the world, were mainWDLQLQJRSHUDWLRQVDVEHVWWKH\FRXOGZLWKUHGXFHGVWD൵
Across the board, the agriculture industry is concerned about logistic issues, whether it's moving raw
materials across closed borders or having enough
healthy employees to keep facilities operational and
products moving.
Markets have responded to the pandemic with drastic swings, most notably in the US S&P and crude oil
prices. The ethanol industry is feeling the pinch as fuel
usage plummets, causing some production facilities to
temporarily stop production.
"So much depends on how long these extreme restrictions need to be in place," said Scott Irwin, a
University of Illinois farmdoc economist.
LOGISTICS
While the impacts from the virus are wide ranging, one
of the key concerns globally for the agriculture industry is logistics.
"What if an entire slaughter plant gets infected and
has to shut down? In addition, is the transportation bottlenecks," Irwin said. "We're already seeing reports of
a slowdown at ports in Argentina and Brazil because
of workers there not wanting to work due to infection fears."
Two major towns in Mato Grosso state in Brazil
were ordered to stop shipping grains in order to stop
the spread of the virus. Grain traders, including Cargill,
Louis Dreyfus and COFCO were working on an agreeApril 2020 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

©Mike Fouque - stock.adobe.com

s the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic sweeps
across the world, every step along the agriculture industry supply chain is stepping up to keep
employees and consumers safe while still providing
vital equipment, services, commodities, feed and food.
The novel coronavirus that initiated in China near
the end of 2019 has now spread to nearly 200 countries with the number of new cases increasing hourly.
As World Grain went to press in early April, more than
800,000 people had tested positive for the virus and
close to 40,000 had died, while more than 172,000 had
recovered, according to Worldometer.
In the United States, which has the most cases of infection, the agriculture industry was labeled as critical,
allowing businesses to continue to operate as usual despite current and potential restrictions enacted to stop
the spread of the virus. Major agribusinesses based in
the United States with global operations said they have
increased hygiene procedures and are taking steps to ensure their facilities continue to operate.
Flour millers globally saw a rapid increase in demand
as quarantine and shelter-in-place orders worldwide
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other grain-based foods. Millers around the world said
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are worried how border closings and quarantine measures could impact the supply of raw materials.
Major agribusinesses vowed to keep facilities operating while enacting stricter hygiene and sanitary measures. Equipment and service providers, even those in

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World Grain - April 2020

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