The panic buying is ridiculous - and self-perpetrating. If one person goes out and buys 10 times the amount of something they need it creates a shortage for 9 others who are then forced into doing the same. It doesn't take long for store shelves to empty out in that scenario.
The supply chain is intact (speaking for the US only as I don't know what type of border restrictions are in place elsewhere) but has a finite capacity that is being exceeded by the current 'craziness'. If people would just regain a hold on their sanity there will be ample everything to go around.
I basically agree with you but people are filled with fear and uncertainty about what to expect going forward. There are some legitimate concerns.
For one example among many, numerous US agricultural crops are harvested by temporary guest workers coming from other parts of the world such as Mexico and Jamaica as part of
the H2, H2A and H2B Guest Worker Program(s) which have been in place since 1942. Between 150,000 and 200,000 foreign workers visit the US for several months a year to harvest crops and then return home. In New England for example, workers have been coming here from Jamaica for generations as part of the H2A program to harvest our apple crop. They are a welcome and integral part of our community every year at harvest time and I've even gotten to know a few of them who have been coming here for years as a result of encountering them at our local stores.
The New York Times article does an excellent job of telling this story. Although the story focuses on New York state, it is virtually identical to how things work in here Vermont. A multi-generational orchardist in the article describes the Jamaican apple pickers as "part of the family".
Of course, here in Vermont, the apple harvest is still eight months away so things may work out ok by then but we don't yet know. Some workers come here months early to do other tasks and prepare for the harvest. Apples are only a small part of the equation. Mexican, Central American and other foreign temporary farm workers are here in this country right now and they rotate out for new workers as the harvest season for many types of produce progresses in states like California and Arizona.
So what happens to our fresh food supply when these vital workers are suddenly forbidden to legally come and go across our borders?
Panic buying and hoarding is not a good thing but the fact is that much is unknown on many fronts about what we face going forward long term.