Heeding the “economic patriotism” request  made by French Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire, French Supermarkets have started to “Stock French Products” on their shelves. French supermarket chain Carrefour has already moved to source 95% of its fruits and vegetables from within France.

The coronavirus pandemic is already causing disruption to the agro-food sector in Europe, with potential ramifications for years to come. After restaurants and bars closed across Europe, the demand for high-quality cuts of meat and seasonal vegetables such as strawberries or asparagus fell, putting pressure on some supply chains while the importance of others has almost totally evaporated.

In Europe, the closure of borders has also resulted in a shortage of seasonal agricultural workers, who often come from eastern European countries. France’s agricultural minister Didier Guillaume has suggested that unemployed French workers should join “the great agricultural army” and lend a hand to the sector by working in the fields. Although work is voluntary, they would earn the right to financial aid from France’s "partial unemployment" scheme.

Among the agricultural heavyweights in Europe – France, Italy and Spain, France is leading the way in putting French farming interests first during the pandemic. These countries had been urging the European Union to grant more protections to their national products even before the pandemic.

Read the full article here (france24.com – 28^th March 2020)

Image: Supermarket by Simon Shek – CC BY 2.0