With the outbreak of the coronavirus and associated COVID-19 disease, globally we are in the midst of a pandemic unlike anything that has been experienced before. It will be some time before we understand the full implications of the spread of the disease and its consequences but, as well as some of the obvious tragic health impacts, there are also some serious and worrying economic impacts. At the heart of that economic impact is supply chain disruption, first of all seen in China, but now very likely to spread across the world as well, following closely the spread of COVID-19.
Some countries which are large producers, such as Peru, do not have a large aquaculture industry at this time, and there is a need to ensure that the materials reach their markets. At this stage we don’t know what the impacts may be on marine ingredient supply chains, but there is a pressing need to understand the consequences of any disruption, with, as we know, fishmeal and fish oil occupying important niches as the nutritional foundation of aquafeeds.
For other sectors, some of the analysis on supply chain disruption has been fascinating, if not also depressing, to read. Again, there are serious economic impact indications in other industries, such as the automotive industry for example, and there are very real concerns about how this may play out over time. It appears that some of the impacts have been exacerbated by continual periods of optimisation, cost minimisation and inventory reduction, and these changes may have removed buffers and reduced flexibility that may have supported those industries in managing their way through the current crisis.
The marine ingredients industry may not be quite in the same situation in respect of supply chains, nor are direct comparisons entirely relevant, but there are implications for the market with more countries’ governments taking direct and significant actions to control the virus on a daily basis.
Read more, HERE.
The Aquaculturists
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