Online delivery slots remain elusive, but perhaps the fact that UK supermarket shelves are stacked with toilet rolls and tinned tomatoes once again is a sign that panic buying due to the coronavirus pandemic has begun to abate.
But unprecedented demand for supplies from supermarkets is offset by a demand slump from restaurants, cafes, hotels and bars that have been forced to shut their doors.
Travel restrictions also limit the movement of goods and services, and mean that fresh produce cannot always get to its intended destination. Farmers across the globe complain that fruit and vegetables are being left to rot and that milk is being poured away because of distribution challenges.
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Vinay Mendonca, |
“Some of our clients in the food industry are shifting distribution away from the food services sector, such as restaurants and cafes to supermarkets and grocery stores, and are facing large-scale logistic disruptions, especially on cross-border perishable movements that rely heavily on commercial air-traffic,” says Vinay Mendonca, managing director and global head of product, propositions and structuring, trade and receivables finance at HSBC.