Modelling supply chain sustainability challenges in the food processing sector amid the COVID-19 outbreak

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted most businesses and their supply chains. Due to the negative impacts of COVID-19, businesses have been facing numerous challenges. Among them, sustainability challenges are critical for any supply chain. In the literature, several studies have discussed the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains; however, there is a significant research gap in analysing supply chain sustainability challenges amid the COVID-19 outbreak in a particular context. To fill this research gap, this study aims to develop a systematic approach to identifying and analysing COVID-19 outbreak-related supply chain sustainability challenges in the context of the Australian food processing sector. To achieve the aims, this paper develops a mixed-method approach consisting of both qualitative and quantitative techniques, namely online survey and the Best-Worst method. From the online survey among experts from the Australian food processing sector, 22 sustainability challenges were finalised and categorised into four categories, namely, economic, environmental, social and ethical, and operational challenges. The empirical findings from the exploratory investigation reveal that increased food processing cost, lack of transparency and traceability, increase in price of raw materials, lack of capital and physical resources, and spread of fake information are the top five sustain-ability challenges to the Australian food processing sector due to the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak. The findings of this study will help decision-makers, practitioners, and policymakers by developing the policies, guidelines, and strategies to overcome the most impactful sustainability challenges to ensure sustainable re-covery from the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Automated summary

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on businesses and their supply chains, particularly in terms of sustainability challenges. Although several studies have discussed the effects of the pandemic on supply chains, there is a research gap in analyzing sustainability challenges in a specific context. This study aims to identify and analyze COVID-19-related sustainability challenges in the Australian food processing sector using a mix of qualitative and quantitative techniques. An online survey and the Best-Worst method were employed, resulting in the identification of 22 sustainability challenges categorized into economic, environmental, social and ethical, and operational challenges. The top five sustainability challenges identified were increased food processing cost, lack of transparency and traceability, increase in price of raw materials, lack of capital and physical resources, and spread of fake information.