China paved the way for trucks, encouraging farmers to increase supply of Wuhan vegetables and fruits and punishing speculators amid disease.

Chinese officials decided to block the city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province in central China, from last week to prevent the spread of acute pneumonia caused by the nCoV virus. This unprecedented move caused the people of Wuhan to rush to the supermarket to buy food reserves such as instant noodles and vegetables.

People said that there was still no serious shortage of food, although the goods on the shelves quickly ran out when they arrived.

Shouguang district, east of Shandong province, China's largest vegetable production center, was ordered to deliver 600 tons of fresh vegetables to Wuhan every day for the next 10-15 days, according to Sunjiaji village officials. Sunjiaji, a local specializing in cucumber cultivation, took the task of transferring 60 tons of melon to Wuhan in less than 7 hours.

"We received a request from the city government at 23h on January 27 and immediately contacted the farmers, asking them to harvest it overnight and deliver it by 6am the next morning," said an official from Li. speaking by phone. "We have sent 70 tons and are waiting for the next order," she said.

COFCO, China's largest food and food company, and the China Food Reserve Corporation (Sinograin) have stepped up their supply of rice, meat and cooking oil to Hubei, state media reported on Wednesday. first.

China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs today announced a call for relevant ministries to coordinate in maintaining the abundant supply of vegetables and price stability for Wuhan. Other areas like Xinjiang will also be involved in the supply.

Trucks carrying food to Wuhan are exempt from travel restrictions if licensed. Officials have also increased fines for speculative increases in the price of basic goods and publicized the names of violators in the media for deterrence. On January 28, a supermarket in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, was fined 500,000 yuan (more than $ 72,000) for selling cabbage for 63 yuan instead of the usual 17 yuan.

However, some people in Wuhan say things are not so easy. Worried about the city blockade order lasted so many people rushed to buy stockpile though not really in need.

"Vegetables and fruits were displayed in the supermarket in the morning, but they quickly ran out because many people bought in large quantities," one person in Wuhan said, describing the stores as "war zones". "You have to salvage whatever is left on the shelves because they will quickly run out."

Wushang Group, the largest supermarket chain in Wuhan with a network of nearly 30 locations, said the biggest challenge for them is the lack of personnel and nearly every company employee becomes a delivery person, using personal cars. to transport goods.

Their cars are sometimes stopped by the police due to travel restrictions, but are often given away if they explain that they are transporting food.

"On the night of January 25, Chongqing City transferred 400 tons of vegetables to Wuhan and we were given 120 tons," said a Wushang group leader. About 100 Wushang employees volunteered to unload and deliver the goods. "The average person unloads more than a ton of vegetables that night," she said.

Lack of employees and delivery services are affecting other parts of Hubei supply chain. Several other small cities in this province are also cordoned off due to disease.

Baishazhou, Wuhan's largest wholesale grocery store, supplies goods to supermarkets and large restaurants in neighboring cities in the province such as Huangshi and Jiujiang, but is witnessing fewer customers due to blockade orders. .

"We have a lot of vegetables, but a lot of them are rotting," said Yuan, the store's fruit and vegetable sales department.