COVID-19 and food supply chain disruptions in Bangladesh: impacts and strategies

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the world into chaos as it has never seen before. Bangladesh, a country of developing economy, has experienced severe disruptions in almost all sectors. Its food supply chain has become one of the most vulnerable sectors when exposed to those stoppages and uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The country’s food supply chains networks have undergone unforeseen circumstances. In this research paper, we have conducted rigorous search to gather evidence of food supply chain disruptions in Bangladesh from the articles published in journal articles, conference papers, and reliable local and international newspapers. We have summarized the plausible impacts of those disruptions on the food supply chain. Later, we suggest some potential strategies to mitigate those effects. Strategies such as contactless delivery, e-commerce adoption, robust collaborative demand forecasting, and decentralization of food manufacture and production, and efficient information sharing, could effectively mitigate the supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic. This paper can provide essential insights and managerial guidelines for Bangladesh as well as other developing countries to tackle food supply chain disruptions under the COVID-19 epidemic scenario.

Keywords

• coronavirus
• bangladesh
• food supply chain
• disruption mitigation