The Impact of Coronavirus 

Well, where do we begin with this post? It’s safe to say it’s a pretty strange one, as is the situation we find ourselves in, in the particular moment in time. 

Coronavirus 

Coronavirus has taken the nation by storm. In the UK, not surprisingly, we resorted to panic buying, leaving the shelves in the supermarkets empty. However, this has made the demand on distributions centres significantly higher over the last couple of weeks, to ensure we all have food to buy off the shelves. 

Here at The British Quinoa Company, we have seen an increase in demand with the number of orders coming from companies and individuals. But other than the obvious, what is the impact of Coronavirus to the wider food supply chain? 

The Impact

Well, it could have an impact on farmers abilities to plant new crops this Spring, due to staff being off work and isolation to stay safe. It’s also important to consider what the impact might be during the summer for fresh produce that requires a large workforce of manual pickers (strawberries or asparagus as examples) since such restrictions could make sourcing labour quite difficult. 

The issues for food manufactures could be significant too. Firstly, they rely on a complex schedule of ingredient supply to help keep the products they make being produced and this could become increasingly challenging. Secondly, many food manufacturers rely on staff to run manufacturing equipment, which could get stretched to continue manufacturing if they have too many key members of staff off at any one time. 

We are also seeing high demand for food distribution – people are buying like never before under these extreme circumstances, making it even more important for foodstuffs to be ready to sell and distribute to the public as soon as possible, ensuring there is no shortage. 

What’s next? 

No one knows how long this will last and the impact it will have, but we think it’s imperative as a nation that we all stick together and look after each other. This means stop panic buying, stick to usual shopping habits to make sure there is enough food for everyone, which will lessen the demand on suppliers, food manufacturers and us farmers and simply follow the government guidelines for staying safe. 

We’d just like to say we are trying our best to keep up with orders and the demand for our British grown quinoa and all our other grains over the next few weeks and months. We are trying our best to ensure all orders are delivered on time! 

Lastly, stay safe and stay home.