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Persistent problems in slaughterhouses with Covid-19 infections undermine consumer trust.
UNITED KINGDOM. According to Global Datas’s latest Covid-19 adjusted forecasts, the global meat market will value $1.3 trillion by the end of 2020, reflecting a year-on-year (YoY) decline of 5.3%. This is a stark contrast to the expected robust baseline growth the industry was experiencing pre-pandemic. Prior to Covid, the global meat industry was expected to grow at an annual rate of 2.6% over 2020 to reach a value of $1.4 trillion.
The activity of meat manufacturers across North America continues to generate a lot of noise, with some processing plants from major companies such as Tyson and JBS resuming operations. Continued turbulence among meat packing players is likely to damage consumers’ trust in associated food products, says the company, a leading data and analytics company.
Carmen Bryan, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Meat is a staple food in many cultures worldwide, thus the global downturn is evident of the current uncertainty and supply disruptions many markets are facing. Although production will stabilize in the long-term, a full recovery to a pre-Covid-19 value is unlikely.”
Covid-19 is reported to have originated from a wet market in Wuhan, China. As a result, animal-borne diseases have been put under the spotlight, which will influence consumers purchasing habits, particularly in terms of supply and distribution of meat-based products. In fact, 85% of global consumers are heavily influenced by how trustworthy a product or a service is.
Furthermore, since the virus outbreak, 44% of global respondents admitted that they do not trust products that are made or imported from China at this time. Meat products in the US could follow a similar trend should the current crisis and infection rate not be quelled. 
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Source: Global Data