(IARN) — United States officials are still determining Coronavirus’ impact on agriculture. Two sources with ties to agriculture offer insight into the situation at-hand.
Soybean futures opened fractionally lower, above Friday’s lows. Commodity markets slipped, after news of Coronavirus. Greg McBride, commodities broker with Allendale, says markets continue to worry about global demand.
“(With) China being a big importer/exporter, (there’s) a concern that we’re going to see disruptions all over the place,” McBride said. “We expect, when they come back to the table, they will come in and at least, lightly buy soybeans.”
U.S. Meat Export Federation senior vice president for Asia Pacific Joel Haggard offers a different persepective. Haggard’s staff closely montiors Coronavirus’ affect on the meat and food business, which has yet to be seen.
“It’s still unclear, and it’s difficult to get a good read. Rumors of Chinese pork closures are just that…rumors,” Haggard said. “Clearance of goods may have been slowed because of the holidays. So far we’re not aware of any pork closures due to disease risk.”
McBride and Haggard made note of a similar outbreak, which played out in 2003. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, rattled Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, United States, and Vietnam. Haggard shares, “Travel alerts issued throughout the outbreak did not impact shipments.”
“During the bleakest days of SARS, in Hong Kong, that port was still loading and unloading vessels twenty-four-seven,” Haggard said.
U.S. Meat Export Federation officials continue to monitor the virus’ impact on the food supply chain.
Haggard says “runs to supermarkets” are weakening food service sales. However, restaurant closures during the New Year’s holiday could have impacted those sales as well.
Story and photo courtesy of the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network.
