All those bare shelves? “They were dramatic, but not emblematic,” says Daniel Sumner, PhD, a distinguished professor of agricultural and resource economics at the University of California, Davis. Early on, panicked consumers raced to stockpile canned goods, rice, dried beans, and other staples, creating eerie impressions of scarcity in stores. But the food supply chain has remained surprisingly strong, according to Sumner. “It’s much more resilient and solid now than I would have thought 2 months ago.”
Co-hosted by: UC Davis Global Affairs, UC Davis World Food Center, in collaboration with ISAM-International School of Agri Management
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted agricultural supply chains within the United States and worldwide. A panel of experts from academia, industry and the non-profit sector will discuss how the pandemic has disrupted global supply chains in the near-term. Looking ahead, they will offer an assessment of COVID 19’s long-run impact on global agricultural trade and how we can prepare for similar crises in the future. It is also part of the Campus Global Theme: Food for Thought: Feeding Ourselves, Feeding the Planet.
Panelists included:
Flavio Alzueta, former vice president and chief marketing officer, GLOBALG.A.P and professor at ISAM-International School of Agri Management in Almería, Spain
Shakira Phiri, investment promotion officer at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism in Malawi, and 2018-19 Mandela Washington Fellow at UC Davis
Gloria E. Polanco, General Manager of FRUTESA (Frutas Tropicales de Guatemala, S.A.)
Daniel Sumner, Frank H. Buck, Jr. Distinguished Professor, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, director of the University of California Agricultural Issues Center
Moderated by:
Ermias Kebreab, director, of the UC Davis World Food Center, associate dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Global Engagement, and professor and Sesnon Endowed Chair in animal science, UC Davis
Dr. Fernanda Ferreira (CE Specialist, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine) discusses with AIC Director Dr. Daniel Sumner and Annie AcMoody (Economist, Western United Dairies) how COVID-19 has impacted dairy markets.
“What we have is a low-cost and efficient system that allows for huge variety and attention to individual tastes,” says Daniel Sumner, an economist at the University of California, Davis.
Professor Daniel Sumner of the University of California, Davis, says the program aims to assist those who might not be covered by other programs, like food stamps. “They are homeless or they’re not eligible in other ways. One of the attempts here is to get food to the poorest, most vulnerable people.”
But while the supply of beef and pork in the U.S. has been down 10% to 15% in recent weeks, there is no long-term threat to the nation’s meat supply, and already “it’s creeping back up,” said Daniel A. Sumner, director of the University of California Agricultural Issues Center.
“As consumers, we’re probably gonna pay a little more and/or another way the stores will say, ‘Well, we don’t want to raise our prices too much, so you’ll only buy two packages,'” said Professor Sumner.
