What is currently happening with the agro-industrial turnaround in the countries with the highest peaks of infection?
For the countries of the world, it is a priority to maintain the food supply for their citizens and to achieve this, the agro-industrial sector must be kept in operation, which must overcome some challenges, several of which do not depend on internal health factors of the companies themselves; there are cases in European countries that show the main thing that is affecting the sector is the lack of direct labor, since they are dependent on immigrants.
Some interesting news from affected countries:
United States: Farmers and orchard owners throughout the United States received a relief last week when the government provided that more workers with H-2A visas for work in the fields will be able to cross the border from Mexico.
The State Department expanded the number of foreign farmworkers whose visa applications can be processed without an in-person interview.
After suspending the "non-essential" visa process in Mexico due to the coronavirus outbreak, the agency said it would give priority to processing workers with H-2A visas that expired within the last year when the interview was suspended, then extended those waivers to new workers and workers who are returning but whose visas expired within the last 24 months.
Spain: The Council of Ministers agreed on Tuesday 7 April to request a 15-day extension of the state of alert, until 26 April, while at the same time approving a decree to incorporate unemployed personnel and migrants into the work force in the countryside in the face of the lack of seasonality due to mobility restrictions. Luis Planas, head of Agriculture in Spain, added that "food consumption has increased by 17.6% over the same week last year and 16.8% over the previous week", there has been a significant growth in fresh produce, especially meat and fruit and vegetables.
France: In France alone, one of Europe's granaries, the agricultural sector estimates that 200,000 jobs will be filled in the coming months for the harvesting of the first crops. With the borders closed, the foreign storms that usually arrive at this time of year in the Welsh fields cannot enter. In order to attack this lack and, at the same time, offer a way out to those who have been left without work due to the epidemic, the French Government has allied with the agricultural unions to facilitate agricultural recruitment.
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Italy: New drastic measure in Italy to fight the coronavirus. After it became known that in just 24 hours almost 800 people had died from the infection, the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, ordered on Saturday, April 4, the closure of all production activities, including factories, except those that provide basic services. Only four major areas remain open: logistics and transport, drugs and health, energy and agro-industry.
Germany: Frutania, one of Germany's largest suppliers of red fruits, asparagus, pome fruit, stone fruit, tomatoes and vegetables for retail, is expecting serious problems in the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables in Germany as a result of the entry ban on foreign storms imposed by the German government. Frutania sees the German season, which is on the starting line, under threat.
Managing Director Markus Schneider talks about a bottleneck, which will not only be felt in 2020, but also in the years to come. "At the moment, our affiliate companies cannot harvest their crop and are not placing orders for plants for next year as they cannot make advance payments for next year due to the uncertainty of the current situation. The import of products from neighbouring countries is not insured or is only partially insured. Normally there is a high level of regional supply from April to September but this year, the shelves in the fruit and vegetable sections of supermarkets will be empty.
China: Businesses in the production areas were heavily affected by the outbreak of the coronavirus during the first days of the epidemic. On the one hand, some companies could not deliver products and could not receive raw materials. In addition, in some areas, vegetables accumulated and were not marketed. On the other hand, the shortage of seasonal supply combined with the additional costs of harvesting, transport and wholesale trade, which increased due to the epidemic, drove the prices of some fruit and vegetables to their peak this year.
Several agricultural companies publicly supported government policies and, as a result, conditions among fruit and vegetable producers began to change. This gained particular momentum when influential medium- and large-scale companies such as Lankuaikei Agriculture Development (Shanghai) Co., Ltd and Cau Futong (Hebei) Co., Ltd offered their support to government policy. They were able to demonstrate that production and prevention were not 'mutually exclusive'.
These agricultural enterprises helped to organize market operations, ensured the supply of fruits and vegetables, and the market began to recover. For example, recently the market price of peppers was about 8 yuan [US$1.15] per 0.5 kg, that of tomatoes was about 5 yuan [US$0.72] per 0.5 kg and the market price of snack cucumbers was about 5 yuan [US$0.72] per 0.5 kg. All these prices are at the same level as last year.
Many agricultural wholesale markets have resumed operations and the number of active traders is growing, although the obvious exceptions are the wholesale markets in the most affected areas in Hubei, as well as returning traders who are still in quarantine. Over 95% of managers in the major fruit, vegetable and processing companies have resumed operations. Each segment of the supply chain is gradually recovering and vegetable distribution has already reached the same level as before the Chinese New Year.
https://www.freshplaza.es/article/9197453/cual-es-la-situacion-actual-de-los-productores-chinos/
Mexico´s role in the Agribusiness
Fruit and vegetable production is one of the most valuable in the Mexican countryside, exporting mostly products such as tomatoes, avocados, green vegetables and berries to the United States, a country that currently has an aggressive policy to guarantee its food supply.
Our current customers of these tours continue to work hard with the aim of being able to meet the large surfaces with such demand, the challenge is to ensure safety in operations that are achieved through good leadership, strict health practices at the entrance and inside the locations and something vital how to ensure proper density of staff (1.5 meters minimum between workers) both in the field and in the packaging plants to prevent the spread of the virus.
Vegetables: Amhpac (Mexican Association of Protected Horticulture), which integrates 260 producers from 24 states of Mexico with more than 10,000 jobs around the country, exports about 1.3 billion tons of vegetables of which about 65% are tomatoes. The value of these exports represent just over $1.35 billion dollars in foreign exchange for the country.
So far, all employees are still paid the same salary; for administrative functions, most companies are working from home.
"If more critical situations come up like a phase 3 or 4, perhaps the logistics and the flow of exports could be hindered, we do not know to what degree, what we have discussed with the authorities is that we are all aware that we have to continue because we can stop buying phones, glasses, etc., but never food, the demand will always be there, the fruit and vegetable sector has to continue producing and in the case of our industry we have to continue exporting," added Diaz.
Avocado: The Association of Producers and Packers Exporters of Avocado from Mexico (Apeam) -located in Michoacan- has exported 741,822 tons to the United States, from week 27 to week 13, the average is 20,000 tons per week. Avocado production seasons run from July of one year to June of the next.
"All members of the Michoacan avocado production chain are committed to ensuring the regular development of working hours according to the requirements of the season, as well as the transfer of workers within the regions or production zones, or between these areas, and the return to their places of origin, since the state government allows free transit within the territory," said the agency.
In the case of fruit and vegetable growers, the variation in the exchange rate has benefited them, as fewer dollars are needed to buy Mexican products, but at the same time, the export market becomes more attractive and can generate a certain inflationary effect between the domestic and export markets.
"On the other hand, the traditional channel has strong demand for agricultural products due to some panic buying, which will generate more pressure on the supply chain. The shortage in the supply chains would generate an accelerated increase in prices paid to the producer and along the chain or, the exchange effect and increased external demand could create an inflationary effect," says the Agricultural Markets Advisory Group (AMAG).
Livestock: The livestock sector has also proved to be one of the winners of the Mexican countryside since meat exports from Mexico to the United States had an increase of 5.6% in terms of value to March 21, 2020 compared to exports of the same period in 2019.
"Given that exports to China were affected in the market by the Pandemic, Australia has regained strength in the U.S. market, growing its exports by 20.7%, while Canada has decreased its exports to the U.S. country by 12.1%," said Rogelio Perez, director of Mexican Beef in a telephone interview.
Mexico is the seventh largest producer of meat with 2 million tons per year and ranks as the ninth exporter sending 14% of total production of which 85.56% goes to the United States. The rest of the production is for domestic consumption as Mexico remains the main market.
In the United States there were panic purchases, which caused the price increase, but will return to normal, said Juan Ley Zevada, president of Mexican Beef. "I see a stable future in terms of supply, in terms of price the market will indicate as it was seen in the United States, is that prices increase because there is demand and return because people stop demanding product," added Ley.
In the United States, production, logistics and exports have not stopped, and customs continues to work with health measures.
Sugar: For their part, day laborers from the Independent Sugar Cane Union in San José de Abajo, Veracruz, said that people from the countryside hardly ever go out to the city, so there is not much of a problem with the spread of the coronavirus. In production, it doesn't affect production because the harvest is in December and during these months the cane is delivered to the mill for processing, which ends between April and May.
Sugarcane growers are now preparing the land for planting, which is ready in May when the rainy season begins. "In the field, the workers are not affected in any way, but because we are all in the same boat. They don't want to stop because the problem is going to be if we stop at our house, what are we going to eat? They want to keep working because they are up to date. As long as we can, we can continue to provide work," said Eduardo Becerra, a sugarcane grower from the same area.
Mexican agribusiness advances in coronavirus crisis due to increase in exports
https://www.forbes.com.mx/
What did the companies with greenhouses in China do to face the current crisis?
Companies applied special rules in the workplace to limit the risk of infection for their employees. Office workers mainly work from home to limit exposure, but this is not an option for employees in production areas, who follow strict guidelines to ensure regular production levels.
Companies have also worked hard to adjust the timing and method of planting and production to respond to the uncertainty that the VOC-19 epidemic has brought. For example, Cau Futong Nanhe Greenhouse Agriculture Group adjusted the supply of lights, carbon dioxide and fertilizers mixed with water to extend the vegetable production season until June, which will improve production volume later in the season.
Another good example is Fujian Sanan-Sino Science Photobiotech Co. Ltd (SANANBIO), which is a leading power in agriculture, with a 10,000 square meter factory. To meet the growing demand for fresh vegetables, it adjusted factors such as planting density, supply of lighting and nutrient solutions and successfully delivered additional yields of lettuce (+43%) and bok choy (+ 35%).
