More than 18 months after the pandemic, the system of global supply chains is experiencing numerous difficulties, causing shortages of consumer products and making it more expensive for companies to ship goods. The impacts on prices and delivery times are severe, affecting both end customers and suppliers. Many times over the past year we have witnessed scenes of empty ships on one side of the world and tens of thousands of boxes on the other. So many demands to be met, raw materials not readily available, ports blocked, consumers locked in their homes…. It is the gradual recovery of economic activities that brought the logistics crisis to the surface.

In short, what has happened? Market demand has exceeded the availability of means of transporting goods. Production is slower and shipping has become an obstacle course. Everyone is affected, not only shippers, forwarders, transport companies… Soon, this crisis will hit consumers’ pockets because few companies will be able to absorb the exponential increases they are forced to bear in order to keep products moving.

In this complex picture, the importance of short supply chains and the need to focus on a circular, local and zero-mileage economy are both part of the agri-food sector. Why? Because the short supply chain represents a production model that aims to reduce production steps and commercial intermediations. Applied in this context of crisis, it allows producers to be completely autonomous and not have to depend on third parties, who are currently in great difficulty. In this way, sellers will be able to put products on the market at an appropriate, while preserving their quality.

At Self Globe we know something about this. Our mission has always been to make small local farmers independent, so that they produce from their own fields, process raw materials on their own farms and market their own finished product without depending on anyone else. The short supply chain allows the end customer to buy certified products through a much more convenient and accessible distribution channel. The movements required to get a product from the field directly to our tables are minimal; the use of freight trucks, ships or airplanes is limited and this only brings advantages both to the producer and to the consumer himself.

This is why, in the agri-food sector, it is important to focus on building companies that aim to shorten the production chain. Processing and selling at zero km are the perfect combination to cope with a crisis like the one we are currently experiencing.

Photo by Cameron Venti on Unsplash