Agriculture Secretary: Coronavirus Pandemic Has Had “Very Little” Impact on U.S. Food Supply

According to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, the coronavirus pandemic is having “very little” impact on U.S. food supply reported Fox Business.

“We have a very complex food supply chain from those vendors that supply our farmers with the tools and inputs they need to grow the crops,” Perdue said. “And then after that, it has to be harvested and processed. And our food safety inspectors are still on the job, just as they’ve always been. And then the processors and the logistics and all the way to the consumer.”

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“So it’s a very complex supply chain, but fortunately, it’s sound, it’s stable, and I think the demand surge that we saw a couple of weeks ago — we’re seeing shelves replenished,” he continued. “I think that gives people a sense of calm when they go in the grocery stores and see the replenishment there. So things are working very well there from the farm to the fork.”

“[T]his whole system has been very stable,” he added. “It’s the best food supply chain in the world, and it’s demonstrated that in light of this pandemic.”

The coronavirus relief package that was recently passed includes $9.5 billion in emergency COVID-19 response funding for agricultural producers. “Farmers are under duress,” Perdue said. “We don't know exactly what the long-term impact will be. Thankfully with this latest legislation that’s passed, Congress provided the resources there to help farmers in need.”