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COVID‐19 impact on fruit and vegetable markets
Author(s) -
Richards Timothy J.,
Rickard Bradley
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
canadian journal of agricultural economics/revue canadienne d'agroeconomie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.505
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1744-7976
pISSN - 0008-3976
DOI - 10.1111/cjag.12231
Subject(s) - covid-19 , purchasing , closure (psychology) , business , supply chain , distribution (mathematics) , agricultural economics , immigration , agricultural science , economics , marketing , geography , market economy , disease , medicine , virology , outbreak , infectious disease (medical specialty) , mathematical analysis , environmental science , mathematics , archaeology , pathology
Canadian fruit and vegetable markets were significantly impacted by the spread of the novel coronavirus SARS‐CoV‐2 (and COVID‐19 disease), beginning in March 2020. Due to the closure of restaurants, bars, and schools, produce growers and distributors were forced to shift supplies almost entirely from the foodservice to the retail channel. Shippers reported labor and logistical constraints in making the change, but the fresh produce supply chain remained robust. In the long term, we expect lasting changes in consumers’ online food‐purchasing habits, heightened constraints on immigrant labor markets, and tighter concentration in fresh produce distribution and perhaps retailing.