Re: Problems in the Food Chain.
As with many other types of large business' , food retailers have long since adopted the model of "just in time".
What that means is instead of tying up huge amounts of cash with a large supply of food in the back of the store, food business' arrange for delivery of food stuffs "just in time".
And, so it goes, back on down the line of suppliers.
Unfortunately for us, no-one ever anticipated panic buying on such a scale. Thus it will take a bit of time for all of the producers of food stuffs to obtain the necessary ingredients.
For example: the grocery store needs more pasta products. They order more from the wholesaler, only to be told that the wholesaler is also having trouble meeting demand because they can't get the product from the factory. The factory can't make enough pasta because they don't have enough flour to make the pasta.
The flour suppliers, in turn, are having difficulty because the
grain silos are nearing empty. And so it goes. Ultimately, the farmers are saying, 'We will not have any more grain until the next harvest.'
The matter is compounded when the country must import its grain from abroad. The huge grain producing countries are saying, 'We may not have enough for our own country. You will have to wait until we can grow more wheat.'
And, all of this because the panic buying has swamped the supplies.