The Effects of <scp>COVID</scp>‐19 on Fruit and Vegetable Production
William Ridley, Stephen Devadoss
Abstract
COVID-19 has had unprecedented effects on the US economy, in large part because of its effects on workers. Within food and agriculture, these effects pose the greatest threat to the production of labor-intensive commodities-in particular, fruits and vegetables, the production of which tends to require large numbers of workers for harvesting and packing. We econometrically estimate the effects of COVID-19 on fruit and vegetable production as the US agricultural labor supply is adversely affected by this pandemic. The major crop losses include $16 million in lettuce, $5 million in apples, and $4 million in grapes.
Topics & Concepts
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)Production (economics)Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)2019-20 coronavirus outbreakBusinessVirologyEconomicsBiologyMedicineOutbreakInfectious disease (medical specialty)MicroeconomicsPathologyDiseaseAgricultural Innovations and PracticesCOVID-19 Pandemic ImpactsEconomics of Agriculture and Food Markets