The pandemic does not give up and continues to disrupt the food supply chain, and although it cannot be said that there is a shortage, there are products that are not available, others are in excess, while prices are on the rise.
In fact, the shortage of meat production in the United States has caused chains such as Sam’s Club and Costco to ration the quantities that customers can buy and Wendy’s in the United States facing problems to make their hamburgers.
However, In Puerto Rico, the Wendy’s have sufficient supplies of meat, said Lizmarie Medina, in charge of Marketing for the chain, since the cattle with which the meat product is made are raised in Puerto Rico. “We will not be affected. We have supplies in advance due to the current situation, ”said Medina.
Carlos Trapaga, president and chief executive officer of Trafon Group, a food import and distribution company, indicated that due to COVID-19, the demand for food has exploded in the United States, Puerto Rico and the world, and some processing plants are not able to supply to be able to supply it 100%.
As a sample, he mentioned that the demand for meats has increased 30% in recent weeks, but due to infections that have been reported among hundreds of employees of meat processing plants in the United States, the slaughter of pigs has been reduced to 50%. This has caused a disruption in the chain and prices have increased.
He explained that the risk is that most of these employees were asymptomatic and since a lot of staff work in food production, there are many absences for fear of contagion.
Prices have skyrocketed in certain cuts of meat, in the cheapest and in those used for the industrial process, they have doubled. Beef is the one that has risen the most in price. “Pork and chicken have also increased, pork in Puerto Rico is imported from the United States and Canada and in both markets production has decreased. Chicken is the one that has risen the least ”.
The shortages in gondolas are partly due to the fact that with less production in the plants and more orders, orders are delayed. “Before, some products were received weekly, and now two weeks go by and they don’t arrive, ”said Trápaga. “The animals are in the field, the problem is in the manufacturing plants. Once they are cleaned and sanitized, everything will normalize“He added.
Trafon Group has also brought meats from Costa Rica for more than 40 years and from Nicaragua, and prices have risen there as well. Thank God we started the crisis with a healthy inventory. We have tried to bring as much as possible, but it is a challenge because there is a high demand ”.
However, Not only the availability of proteins has been affected by the pandemic, flours, pasta and some canned products are also seen in less quantity in gondolas.. “There are more people making all three meals at home and that has fueled demand. For example, the production of canned meat and chicken is one month behind, since the orders have increased, ”said the president of the Trafon Group.
By contrast, dairy products derivatives, including cheeses, are overproduced. This is because the plants converted milk into derivatives, since most of the restaurants and cafes – which are their regular customers – are not open.
“There are some difficult products to get,” he said, Elpidio Núñez from Northwestern Selecta, one of the leading meat product distributors on the island, who stated that the situation of COVID-19 “has caused meat prices to rise up to 30%. Beef has increased 50% or more. This increase could last for months until adjustments are made in the processing plants“
“We are in a wave of price instability. A month ago meat prices were historically low, as they were not seen in 20 years, and now they are rising, “said Núñez.
As for a possible increase in food shortages, the businessman does not believe that it will happen. “There will be products. If you used to eat steak, now it will be a cutlet and if not, well, chicken drumsticks, ”he said, noting that, although“ although there are cuts of meat that are more difficult to obtain, so far 90% of orders arrive complete ”.
“I do think that There will be a sharp rise in prices. And that will influence the type of protein that people will consume“Núñez pointed out.
– .
