China scrambles to keep cities in virus lockdown fed

manr of Wushang Mart in Wuhan, locked-down city at heart of China’s virus outbreak, says its shelves are loed with 50% more vegetables and or food than usual to reassure jittery customers.

China’s communist leers are striving to keep food flowing to crowded cities despite anti-disease controls to quell fears of possible shorts and stave off price spikes from panic buying after most access to Wuhan was cut off Jan. 23.

Food stocks in supermarkets ran low shortly after Beijing imposed travel curbs and extended Lunar New Year holiday to keep factories, offices and or businesses closed and public at home in a desperate attempt to prevent virus from spreing.

That also kept trucks off ro, disrupting supplies of food to markets, feed to farmers and poultry to slaughterhouses. As shutdown of Wuhan expanded to cover cities with a total of 60 million people, villrs set up ir own roblocks to keep outsiders and possible infection away.

Employees at Wushang Mart wear masks and protective suits. Customers wash ir hands with disinfectant and are checked for virus’s telltake fever, said manr, who would give only her surname, Lu.

“It is rmal for people to worry about supply, but we explain re will be eugh,” Lu said by phone.

This week, a Cabinet official ackwledged vegetable supplies were uneven and some “daily necessities” were sold out.

“se problems are being coordinated and resolved,” Lian Weiliang, deputy chairman of National Development and Reform Commission, said at a Feb. 3 news conference in Beijing.

Later that day, state TV anunced local authorities nationwide h been ordered to “ensure supply of daily necessities” including vegetables, meat, eggs, milk and grain.

following day, Agriculture Ministry told officials to unblock transportation and “ensure rmal operation” of livestock and feed production. Authorities banned unauthorized roblocks and warned merchants against hoarding and price-gouging.

Shanghai city government said it fined a supermarket 2 million yuan ($270,000) for raising price of cabb by 400%.

To reassure public, state-controlled media have been plastered with photos of boxes stuffed with eggplants, cauliflower and or vegetables being loed onto trucks for delivery to markets.

Party leers in Shenzhen, a city of 15 million people jacent to Hong Kong that is a center for finance and techlogy, sent officials to rural Yunnan province in southwest to make sure vegetable shipments resumed quickly after holiday, Shenzhen News Net reported.

China alrey was struggling with surging food prices due to an outbreak of African swine fever that began in 2018. Millions of pigs died or were destroyed, disrupting supplies of pork, country’s staple meat.

price of pork doubled in December from a year earlier, pushing up overall food costs by double digits. government has released pork from stockpiles but industry analysts say prices and size of Chinese pig herds are unlikely to return to rmal until at least next year.

In quarantined areas, trucks with government permits are allowed through roblocks every day to bring in food. Soldiers from ruling party’s military wing, People’s Liberation Army, have taken over delivery of medical supplies.

Some trucking companies are shorthanded because drivers who returned to ir hometowns for Lunar New Year are stranded re by suspension of bus and train links in some areas.

“We have eight trucks and three of m are operating w,” said an employee of a vegetable delivery company in eastern city of Nanjing. She would give only her surname, Yao.

Wushang Mart cut its daily opening hours from 13 to seven and put whole staff to work in one shift, said Lu, manr. That includes unloing 1,000-kilogram (2,000-pound) trucklos of green beans, spinach, potatoes and or vegetables.

“ stock we have w is 50% more than rmal,” Lu said.

Even getting out to shop is a challenge in some cities that are under almost total quarantine.

Only one member of each household is allowed out each day to shop for food in Hangzhou, an industrial metropolis of 10 million people southwest of Shanghai, and in Huanggang, a city of 1 million near Wuhan.

Millions of households are relying inste on online grocery shopping, alrey a booming Chinese consumer trend.

JD.com, Alibaba Group and smaller rivals say y are delivering meat, vegetables and or supplies in locked-down cities. Employees have been given masks, goggles, protective clothing, disinfectant and or supplies.

JD.com, country’s biggest online direct retailer, said its sales of fresh food in Wuhan were up 280% from a year ago in week ending Feb. 2. Nationwide, it says sales of beef, pork and eggs were up 400%. company said it sold 1.8 million bottles of disinfectant.

In Nanjing, an outlet of Huarun supermarket chain is stocking more than usual “to make sure people have eugh to eat,” said an employee who answered phone re. He refused to give his name.

“re were some people who tried to buy a lot, but y longer do it after seeing abundant supply,” said employee.

Im Source: AP