Rising tensions along the agri-food value chains during the COVID-19 crisis: evidence based on Google Trends Data

The global socio-economic and sanitary crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has generated many different effects on the links of the global agri-food value chains regarding the production and consumption behaviors of agri-food products. Depending on the link, these effects can be positive, negative, or even a mix of both. However, all these sudden changes, beneficial or not, they result in deepening the economic tensions existing along the agri-food value chains. In this context, the aim of this research was to explore the rising tensions along the Romanian agri-food value chains during the different stages of the COVID-19 crisis in Romania, while bringing the HoReCa industry in the spotlight of this study, and, more specifically, the food service component. This paper brings contribution to the literature concerning the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic at the level of the agri-food value chains based on a statistical analysis carried out with the data available from two open access sources: Google Trends and the Romanian National Institute of Statistics. A short bibliometric analysis was also elaborated on the papers tackling the topic of the rising tensions along the agri-food value chains during the pandemic. Research results show that the Romanian HoReCa industry has been subject to various challenges emerged from the need to limit the spread of the COVID-19 disease. This has generated a lot of concern – not only from the food security perspective, but also from the perspective of the entrepreneurs active in the agri-food value chains. Food-ordering companies with homedelivery have been of high interest during the COVID-19 pandemic, as they connect two major links in the food chain: restaurants and consumers. While consumers have become more dependent than ever on digital solutions to purchase food, a lot of pressure is put on indoor restaurants.