WANDILE SIHLOBO: Pandemic adds to food insecurity in Africa, but little threat yet in SA
Some global meat plants have been forced to close but only pork supplies stand to be affected locally
Global food and agricultural supply chains are taking strain from disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the case whether one looks at meat or grain supply chains.
First, the US, Brazil and Canada, which accounted for nearly a third of global meat and edible offal exports in 2019, have closed some of their meat processing plants over the past few days in response to the spread of Covid-19 among employees. In the US and Canada the major closures are beef and pork processing plants, while in Brazil the closures are of poultry-related plants. Given these countries’ significant combined contribution to global meat exports of 28%, if the plant closures spread and they remain closed for a prolonged period there could be a global meat shortage and potential uptick in prices...
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