Global food supply chain resilience assessment: A case in the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

As a result of Coronavirus disease (Covid-19), container trade volumes and container port throughputs in the world have both declined over the first half of 2020. Covid - 19 causes unprecedented disruptions to the countries where food supplies heavily rely on shipping, such as the United Kingdom (UK). It is vital to assess the associated food shipping systems to ensure national food supply resilience. This paper aims to assess the national food supply chain (FSC) resilience for the UK by considering food import dependency and shipping transport connectivity. A new national food connectivity index (NFCI) framework is formulated, and supporting data is collected from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the United Nations Commodity Trade (UN Comtrade). NFCI of the UK is calculated and compared with other countries. The formulation and analysis contribute to a newly proposed formal method to assess a nation's FSC resilience and observe and address the shortcomings of its food supply system for food security. © 2021 IEEE.