Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is continuing to spread around the world, causing hard times for many economies and sectors, including agriculture. The virus has posed serious challenges for the sustainable functioning of agri-food markets. As of 1 May 2020, more than 3.2 million cases were confirmed with over 231,000 deaths. The WHO is still reporting a continuous rise in the number of cases, with the pandemic now spreading to virtually all countries of the world. After the first shock, many newspapers have started to post articles on the different effects of the virus related to agriculture. Although understandably, the first articles were simply about the importance of staying home, more complex analyses of the different effects have become available as time has passed. Although we lack enough long-term data to properly analyse its global sustainable impacts, the scientific community as well as industry stakeholders are seeking knowledge and information on the short- and long-term effects of the pandemic.