U.S. meat plants are expected to be resuming operations in “days, not weeks,” USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue told Bloomberg in an interview, noting that personal protection gear and access to COVID-19 testing should happen “virtually immediately.” USDA has already started working on orders to get them filled on a priority basis with suppliers.
The downturn in meat production should ease to “10% to 15% within a week to 10 days,” he noted, putting the current shortfall at 20% to 30%.
“There will be some less production, some inefficiency based on line speeds, some employees that will not be able to come back to work,” Perdue said, but emphasized that worker safety “is the first priority here.”
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