Tyson Foods warns about supply chain breaking in the US
Severe disruptions recorded in the last couple of weeks in processing plants owned by Tyson Foods, JBS, Hormel and Smithfield are creating bottlenecks in the supply chain across the US. "The food supply chain is breaking", warned Tyson Foods' board chairman John Tyson in an advertisement published at the end of the week by several large newspapers in the US.
"There will be limited supply of our products available in grocery stores until we are able to reopen our facilities that are currently closed", added Mr. Tyson, according to CNN.
Tyson Foods closed its pork plants in Pasco, Washington, Waterloo, Iowa, and Logansport, Indiana, last week so that workers in those facilities could be tested for the virus.
At the same time, US consumers are switching from meat to plant-based alternatives, according to the Financial Times. Sales of these products have jumped by more than 200% in the last few weeks compared with the volumes recorded in April 2019, as some of the country's largest processing plants or slaughterhouses have been forced to cease operations temporarily after thousands of employees across the country have tested positive for the virus. By comparison, meat sales have increased by 30% over the same period, shows a Nielsen report.
Analysts are expecting another shockwave for pork processors that can reduce the total production by 32% as the virus keeps spreading in the country. Beef production in the country has been impacted by 14%. Currently, pork and beef prices in retail have jumped due to increased demand, while farmers are complaining about dropping prices for animals due to the closure of several large abattoirs in the US.
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