Will COVID-19 affect food supply in distribution centers of Brazilian regions affected by the pandemic?

• Published in: Trends in food science & technology Vol. 103; pp. 361 - 366
• Main Authors: de Paulo Farias, David, de Araújo, Fábio Fernandes
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2020; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Agribusiness; analysis of variance; Brazil; Ceasas; Cluster analysis; Coronavirus; Coronavirus infections; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Distribution centers; Economic importance; Euclidean geometry; Food; food availability; Food chains; Food marketing; food prices; Food security; Food supply; food supply chain; Food supply chains; fruits; Internet; Orthocoronavirinae; pandemic; Pandemics; principal component analysis; Principal components analysis; Statistical analysis; supply chain; Supply chains; Variance analysis; vegetables; Websites; Brazil; Brazil; Food supply chains; Coronavirus; Food marketing; Food security; Ceasas
• ISSN: 0924-2244; 1879-3053
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tifs.2020.05.023

Currently, there is great concern about the consequences of COVID-19 on health and also on food supply globally. Ceasas are important food distribution centers in Brazil that have great economic importance in Brazilian agribusiness. In this work, the price of fruits and vegetables sold in four Ceasas in different regions affected by COVID-19 in the first quarter of 2020 were evaluated, with the aim of verifying the possible effects of the pandemic on food supply chains. Data were collected from the institutions' websites and subjected to analysis of variance and Tukey's test (p ≤ 0.05), principal component analysis and Cluster analysis (Euclidean distance). The regions affected by COVID-19 showed great variations in the prices of products sold in the studied Ceasas. Statistical analysis showed that food prices were dependent on the regions and the period in which they were traded. In general, the month of March proved to have the greatest impact on the consumer's pocket. The strengthening of Ceasas as platforms for supplying food from short supply chains is essential to guarantee internal food security during crises such as that caused by the new coronavirus. •Ceasas are crucial tools to ensure internal food supply during the COVID-19 crisis.•Regions affected by the pandemic suffered great variations in the food prices studied.•Ceasa-PE presented the biggest price variation in the first quarter of the year.•Tomato and onion were the most expensive products in March.