As the coronavirus crisis deepened, Veseys, the Prince Edward Island seed house founded in 1939, saw its business soar by 450 per cent
The frenzy began near the end of March. In the midst of a pandemic, Canadians forced to isolate suddenly expressed an insatiable desire to dig in the dirt.
John Barrett, director of marketing and sales for Veseys, says there was an unprecedented demand for vegetable seeds during the COVID-19 lockdown.“When you consider that it happened at the time of year when [our business] would already be at its peak, that is mind-boggling,” Mr. Barrett says.Despite that, the company had to temporarily shut down its website on April 17. It had 34,000 orders in waiting, and had reached the point where it was unable to handle any more.
All across the country, firms that fill seed packets have been similarly swamped. In an unexpected development related to the novel coronavirus, garden-variety growers have become obsessed with obtaining seeds. “People have nothing to do at home, and some have become worried about food security,” Mr. Saks says.
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