The impact of the most recent coronavirus outbreak has been felt unevenly around the U.S. food industry. Some importers have seen supply disruptions from China, and many of the nation’s Chinatown neighborhoods have reported sharp declines in business. Many food retailers, however, have benefited from consumers stockpiling supplies, including shelf-stable foods.
The virus, which causes a potentially fatal, flu-like disease called covid-19, has infected more than 90,000 people worldwide, mostly in China. It has since spread globally and appeared in 15 different states around the U.S., causing six deaths as of Monday.
Sunday Li, marketing executive at OCM Group USA, a Los Angeles-based importer and marketer of Chinese foods, said her company has seen a delay of about two weeks in its orders from China. However, the company had stocked up on product before the recent New Year festival period and has been able to fill most of its orders.
“We could have some out-of-stocks soon, though,” she says.
Li says that as the spread of the disease has weakened in China in recent weeks, some production has resumed, and she expects additional product shipments to arrive late this month.
OCM saw a surge in sales to retailers and restaurant wholesalers in February, she says, as these customers anticipated that product availability could be impacted. And, after the virus began spreading in the U.S., the company has seen increased demand for shelf-stable foods.
“We sold tons of rice and instant food in the past few days,” says Li.
The company has had to curtail some travel to China, however, and it canceled its planned attendance at a large Chinese food expo in Chengdu that had been scheduled for this month.
The coronavirus’s impact on product from other counties appears minimal so far. Ilyse Rathet, co-owner of Seattle-based Ritrovo Italian Regional Foods, an importer of a wide range of products from Italy, said she is not aware of any potential supply disruptions, after the virus broke out suddenly in that country several days ago.
“I haven’t heard anything of alarm,” she says.
She notes that an event the company is planning in April, in which attendees are expected from Italy, could be impacted.
“That could be the first time we might see some affect on travel, but we haven’t seen any impact on the supply chain,” she says.
Expo West Postponed
Meanwhile Natural Products Expo West parent New Hope Network has postponed it's annual West coast event, with the hope of announcing a new date for the conference by mid-April. The organization says that it intends to deliver a Natural Products Expo West event before the summer, either in Anaheim, Calif. or a "suitable alternative location."
In an email, Fred Linder, group president of New Hope Network said, "As with all our events, it was the intention here at Expo West in Anaheim, to follow official guidance from local authorities and to listen to the voices of the community we serve and support, in order to maximise the health of the industry. Today, it is clear the majority of those voices are saying they want Expo West but not this week. And so we are being guided by that majority in postponing the show.”
Impact on Chinatown Businesses
Perhaps one of the most hard-hit industry segments have been the Chinatowns in cities around the country, where sales volumes at some restaurants have been down 50 percent or more, according to reports.
Wellington Chen, executive director of the Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corp. in New York says business in the area had declined, but has rebounded “a little bit” since the news first emerged that the virus had been spreading rapidly in China.
“It is still nowhere near pre-corona levels,” he says, noting that the impact appears to be widespread among Asian businesses, including even Asian barbershops.
“People are really postponing and deferring,” says Chen. “It’s just like cruises, convention trips, and anything that is not necessary immediately, some people—but not all—are deferring.”
He notes that much of the product sold in Chinatown is actually sourced locally. “Chinatown is known for it’s fresh fruits and vegetables, and those are not from China,” he says.
Likewise, most seafood sold in Chinatown’s markets is locally sourced as well, says Chen.
Meanwhile, Chen and others around the country have launched programs to encourage visitors to patronize local Chinatowns.
The New York Chinatown Partnership is offerings a raffle giveaway to encourage shopping in the area, and has also enjoyed support from other business groups in the city that are promoting Chinatown visits. It is also encouraging the use of hashtags on social media: #DineInChinatown, #ShopInChinatown and #SupportChinatown.
Elsewhere around the country, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week toured San Francisco’s Chinatown in an effort to quell fears about visiting there, where some businesses have reported declines of 75 percent to 80 percent.
In Houston, meanwhile, the Axelrad beer garden is offering a free can of beer to customers who bring a receipt from that city’s Chinatown.
The Food Marketing Institute and National Restaurant Association are among the industry associations that have issued information about how their members can cope with the outbreak:
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