RFD-TV’s own Janet Adkison and several financial experts have the latest on what the COVID-19 coronavirus means for the agricultural markets.
Ryland Maltsbarger, Associate Director for IHS Markit Economics, said that there has been a big shift in the supply chain due to the change in consumer demands. Malsbarger goes on to add, “We’ve actually had a jump in sales of basic ag products for certain markets, not all of them, but fresh veggies, as well as your meats... and that has caused some distribution networks to be strained.”
Agricultural crops and products are not the only things being affected; in the U.S., the demand for gas is dropping. According to Kevin Lindemer, Executive Director of IHS Markit Consulting, “We are expecting in the months of April and May a loss of 600-700 million gallons of ethanol on a monthly basis.” Lindemer concludes that the numbers they are seeing right now are only going to grow in the coming week.
Lastly Zbyszko Tabernacki, the President of Economics for IHS, had this to say about the direction of the markets: “Unfortunately...the spread of the virus is so significant and so broad-based and effecting every aspect of economics, that we have no doubt we are already in the midst of a global recession.”
For more economic news from IHS Markits, click HERE.
For all updates on the Coronavirus and how it impacts Rural America, visit our Coronavirus outbreak hub.
