Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID - 19) Pandemic on International Agricultural Trade

Abstract

Trade always plays an essential role in saving both lives and livelihoods of people in time of significant global health crises. As a result, international collaboration is mandatory to aid the flow of trades in such situations.  The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID - 19) pandemic has provoked a major impact on food supply chains worldwide, causing economic slowdown all over the world, especially supply chains in food and agricultural products.  Generally, in a short term of such crisis, most countries will keep those supply chains intact and operating efficiently to reduce panic buying and to accommodate consumption habits arising from personal isolation. Once the crisis has passed, governments may wish to strengthen institutions that manage international trade. On the other hand, depending on the experience in handling COVID - 19 situations, if the governments see that they are over-reliant on foreign sources of supply, they may consider being more of isolationist, rejecting international cooperation. These traits may depend on the paths economies following the disequilibrium caused by the pandemic.