Over the last two decades, the premix industry has evolved to meet the challenge of supplying premix to countries in support of national fortification programs and ensuring staple foods can be fortified.
Yet, COVID-19 has caused an unprecedented global crisis, with severe impacts on the lives of the most vulnerable. Efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 have disrupted food systems and global trade. Lockdown and quarantine strategies to mitigate the spread of the virus and their concurrent economic impact have made nutritious foods less accessible and less affordable, driving up global hunger and malnutrition.
The fortification supply chain has itself been impacted by the pandemic. Challenges experienced by premix suppliers and fortified food producers include:
- foreign exchange shortages
- limited sources for some raw materials (making the supply chain vulnerable to disruptions)
- concentration of premix suppliers in specific geographies
- huge increases in air freight and shipping costs, and container shortages due to COVID-related trade imbalances.
Key Questions:
- Moving forward, how can vulnerabilities in the premix supply chain be addressed to make it more resilient to external shocks?
- What actions can vitamin and mineral producers and premix blenders take to ensure a reliable, affordable supply of vitamin and mineral premix to support fortification programs in in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs)?
- What actions can be taken strengthen and protect local access to premix, especially by small and medium-sized producers of fortified staple foods?
Join this #FutureFortified conversation to find out!
Moderated by Saskia Osendarp, Executive Director of the Micronutrient Forum and featuring actors working to overcome these challenges from Stern Vitamin, BASF, Hexagon Nutrition, the GAIN Premix Facility and voices from Bangladesh and Mozambique.