COVID-19 is impacting the supply of rubber mats in Ireland, with Durapak and Easifix both advising some farmers of wait times running into 2021.

A large portion of the mats are manufactured in India, where workers have been badly impacted by COVID-19 and companies are finding it difficult to maintain staffing levels. “Normally there might be a six to eight week waiting time, but now people are looking at up to five months to get mats,” Seamus O’Callaghan director of Durapak told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“We were lucky we had a significant stockpile at the start of the pandemic, but now it is a double-edged sword, with supplies running low and demand higher than normal for certain products, though we still have slat mats.”

Easyfix also reported that COVID-19 has impacted its supply chain, but said it has slat mats available.