Anticipating the impacts of mega events on host-country agri-food supply chains: a synthesis based on a simulation of the World Cup 2022 in Qatar

Abstract

Agri-food supply chains are likely to be disrupted during mega events. In order to prevent food waste and financial losses, it is crucial to respond and recover quickly from these disruptions. In fact, hosting such events has emphasized the importance of disruption management in supply chains, especially for small countries. The purpose of this study is to give an overview of the possible long-term and short-term impacts of hosting major events. It presents a case study of the 2022 FIFA WORLD CUP using a simulation-based method. Additionally, it takes into account a wide variety of challenges, such as perishability, traffic problems, and increasing customer demand for agri-food products. Realistic data from an agri-food supplier will be used to simulate future scenarios and illustrate their impacts on Qatar's food supply chain. From simulation results, it appears that the rise in food demand has a great impact on the supply chain operations and performance, whereas transportation disruptions did not have significant impacts. Despite this, we note that higher demand has generated higher revenues. We conclude with several practical recommendations to improve the robustness and sustainability of the AFSC.