World Grain - April 2020 - 26

FEATURE: COVID-19 IMPACTS AGRICULTURE FROM FARM TO FORK

26

bound to lead to some shortages and hiccups, said Gary
Schnitkey, professor with the University of Illinois'
Agricultural and Consumer Economics department.
"Making that big of a switch is going to be some
work for those in transportation and food industries,"
KH VDLG ³7KH\ DUH ZRUNLQJ RYHUWLPH 2XU ¿UVW FRQcern is around workers and transportation, and keeping
those systems running. It seems likely that we'll get
COVID-19 infected workers in some sort of processing
plant. How we deal with that is going to be a concern."
Agricultural groups in the United States asked the
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to grant
relief from federal drive time rules for all truck drivers
hauling agricultural goods. As trucking capacity and
driver availability tightens because of COVID-19, surge
nor normal trucking capacity may be adequate to provide
just-in-time deliveries to animal feeding operations, food
processing and manufacturing plants, distribution facilities, export facilities and retail outlets, the groups said.
7KHJURXSVDOVRUHTXHVWHGWKDWWKH)0&6$DGGÀH[ibility to the process for obtaining new restricted agricultural commercial driver's licenses, assist in keeping
truck washouts open that are necessary for the sanitary
transportation of many food products, and provide
leadership in harmonizing the temporary increases in
truck weight limits that have been announced by several states.

stand that they are all busy, as a result of consumers
building stocks in case they have to stay at home: bread
DQGUHWDLOÀRXUVDOHVKDYHLQFUHDVHG´
*HUPDQ\¶V ÀRXU PLOOHUV¶ DVVRFLDWLRQ 9*06
(Verband der Getreide-, Mühlen- und Stärkewirtschaft)
moved on March 17 to reassure customers, insisting
there was no need to hoard food. All the companies
in the grain, milling and starch sectors were working
more than usual to meet strong demand, it said. There
ZHUH VX൶FLHQW VXSSOLHV RI UDZ PDWHULDOV DYDLODEOH
HYHQ ZLWK WKH H൵HFW RI VWRFNSLOLQJ +RZHYHU WKH DVsociation warned against hoarding too much, too soon,
which could mean some consumers facing empty supermarket shelves.
Nabim has been making its case to the government
of the critical nature of the industry so that it can conWLQXHWRRSHUDWHDWRUFORVHWRFDSDFLW\GHVSLWHVWD൵DEsence related to illness or quarantine.
"It is critical that all nations acknowledge the necessity
of allowing food production to continue and the importance of trade in both grain and ancillary materials such as
packaging in the manufacture of food," nabim said.
European farm ministers were told during a meeting
held by video conferencing on March 25 by the farmers group Copa-Cogeca that the increase in demand for
ZKHDWSURGXFWVVXFKDVEUHDGÀRXUDQGSDVWDLVD൵HFWing demand from mills for raw materials.
Reports of problems supplying factories and mills in
FLOUR MILLING
France, with processors trying to get supplies as quick(XURSH¶VÀRXUPLOOHUVDUHZRUNLQJÀDWRXWWRVXSSO\WKH ly as possible, also have arisen. With labor shortages,
ÀRXUQHHGHGWR¿OOUHWDLOVWRUHVKHOYHVZLWKEUHDGSDVWD Copa-Cogeca said in a paper put before the meeting by
and other grain-based products.
its Secretary General Pekka Pesonen that "the logistics
Laurent Reverdy, secretary general of the European DUHLQVX൶FLHQWWRHQVXUHDQRSWLPDOÀRZRIJRRGV´
Flour Millers association, told World Grain on March
"In Poland, at least nine buyers are not accepting ce17 that "so far, I have not been informed of mills clos- reals from farmers," the paper said.
LQJ GXH WR VWD൵ GLVUXSWLRQ RU DQ\WKLQJ HOVH , XQGHUIn China, Wudeli Group, the world's largest milling
April 2020 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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Keeping the various modes of grain
transportation
flowing will be a
challenge during
the pandemic.
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