JBS and Smithfield are among meat packers and food processors in the US that have closed after employees caught coronavirus.

Others are changing shift patterns to limit interaction between employees.

As part of our Leatherbiz Weekly update, the AG Centre has reported that government officials are rushing to deliver testing kits to meat plants and deliver PPE (personal protective equipment) to keep plants open. 

“Most of the protein provider companies have been impacted and conditions vary by plant. Maintaining the food supply chain for supermarkets is unusually important because of restaurant shutdowns,” said the author.

Slaughter is falling and supermarkets will struggle to find beef in the coming weeks, it added.

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