Post-Covid: Why the World Suddenly Needed Trusted Agriculture and Why IGSO Became Inevitable

When Covid hit, the disruptions were immediate and overwhelming.But beyond the obvious health and economic shock, something deeper happened — something that permanently changed the agricultural world.

For the first time in modern history, everyone — governments, retailers, and consumers — began asking fundamental questions about food:

• Is it safe?

• Who touched it?

• How did it travel?

• Could the virus be transmitted through packaging?

• What happens if the supply chain stops?

Food security, which had always been talked about quietly in policy circles, suddenly became a mainstream concern.

The pandemic didn’t just disrupt supply chains —it disrupted trust.

And this exposed the deepest vulnerabilities in the global food system.

1. Covid Exposed the Fragility of the Entire Food System

Before Covid, most consumers never thought about where their food came from.They saw fruit in the supermarket and simply trusted that:

• the origin was correct,

• the variety was authentic,

• the supply chain was safe,

• and the certification was real.

Covid destroyed this assumption almost instantly.

Suddenly:

• food safety was questioned at every stage

• supply chains stalled without warning

• labor shortages shut down entire orchards and packhouses

• logistics slowed to a crawl

• and fear spread faster than the virus itself

Consumers started demanding information that the industry simply wasn’t prepared to provide.

This shift was enormous.

Because when consumers collectively demand something,the industry must change — whether it wants to or not.

2. The Industry’s Response: Instead of Fixing the System, Many Chose the Easy Road

To rebuild trust, the world needed:

• real traceability

• real transparency

• real certification

• real test results

• real accountability

But these changes are structural,and structural change is hard.

So instead of transforming, parts of the industry chose shortcuts.

They faked it.

• fake certifications

• fake test reports

• fake brands

• fake origin labels

• fake varieties

• fake packaging

• fake marketing stories

Everything consumers wanted, someone produced a counterfeit version of it.

The result was predictable:

trust collapsed.

Consumers retreated into a defensive purchasing mindset:

“If I can’t tell what’s real, I might as well buy the cheapest.”

This single behaviour — triggered by fear — damaged the honest growers the most.

3. Our Fight Against Counterfeit: The Tasmania Cherry Case

A defining moment in this trust crisis was the Tasmania cherry counterfeit case in Hong Kong, which became international news.

A retailer was caught selling counterfeit “Tasmanian cherries,” intentionally packaged to mislead consumers.

Media across Hong Kong and Australia covered the incident:

• HK01 reporthttps://www.hk01.com/%E7%AA%81%E7%99%BC/583954/%E6%B2%B9%E9%BA%BB%E5%9C%B0%E6%B0%B4%E6%9E%9C%E5%BA%97%E8%B3%A3%E5%86%92%E7%89%8C%E6%BE%B3%E6%B4%B2%E8%BB%8A%E5%8E%98%E5%AD%90-%E5%A5%B3%E5%94%AE%E8%B2%A8%E5%93%A1%E8%A2%AB%E6%8D%95-%E6%B5%B7%E9%97%9C%E6%95%993%E6%8B%9B%E5%88%86%E7%9C%9F%E5%81%87

• ABC Australia coveragehttps://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-02-08/hong-kong-customs-tasmanian-cherries-scam-lunar-new-year/13130576

But what happened next surprised the entire market.

When the counterfeit was exposed, consumers didn’t run away — they ran toward the truth.

Instead of collapsing, demand for the real Tasmanian cherries surged.

Here were the actual results:

• Our market share in Hong Kong climbed to around 70%.

• Prices increased by about 25% that season.

• Retailers urgently shifted to verified supply.

• Importers aligned themselves with trusted sources.

• Consumers actively avoided any unverified or suspicious products.

The case revealed something profound:

Authenticity has market power.Transparency is not a cost — it is a competitive advantage.

And most importantly:

Counterfeiters can copy boxes,they can copy names,they can copy designs…

but they cannot copy trust.

This episode proved to us — and to the entire industry — that trust is not an abstract concept.Trust translates into real revenue, real market share, and real protection for growers.

4. The Post-Covid Consumer Has Changed Forever

Covid permanently rewired consumer expectations.

Today’s consumer — regardless of age, country, or income — wants to know:

• Where exactly is this from?

• Who produced it?

• Is the certification real?

• How long has it been traveling?

• Can I verify anything myself?

Trust used to be silent and assumed.Now it must be proven.

Consumers aren’t rejecting good products —they’re rejecting uncertainty.

And if the industry cannot give them the certainty they seek?

They default to the cheapest option on the shelf.

This is a disaster for honest growers who invest in quality.

5. This Is Why IGSO Became Necessary — Not Optional

When IGSO was founded in 2018, it was born from the desire to support global growers and create fair, transparent standards.

But after Covid, the mission expanded instantly.

The world now needed:

• trusted agricultural infrastructure

• identity systems that cannot be faked

• traceability that goes beyond paperwork

• standards that can be verified openly

• a neutral, global organization to represent growers fairly

Covid didn’t create these needs —it simply exposed how urgent they were.

And it removed all excuses for delay.

6. Post-Covid Agriculture Is a Trust Economy

The pandemic taught us one undeniable truth:

Food is not just a product.Food is a relationship.

Relationships depend on trust.Trust depends on transparency.Transparency depends on a system.

This is where IGSO stands.

We are not just building tools.We are rebuilding confidence.We are not only protecting growers.We are protecting the integrity of food itself.

Covid changed agriculture forever.Now we must build the system the world should have had from the beginning —a system where:

• good growers are recognized,

• consumers are protected,

• value is preserved,

• and authenticity is no longer optional.

That is the mission of IGSO in the post-Covid world.