The Chinese government is calling on residents to build food supplies. She also asks local governments to facilitate agricultural production and food supply. An explanation is not given, but the corona and failed harvests may play a major role.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce calls on families to build daily food supplies in a statement on its website. In addition, local governments are advised to facilitate agricultural production, and food supply flows. The prices of meat and vegetables have risen spectacularly in recent weeks.
For cucumber, spinach and broccoli, the Chinese had to pay more than twice as much as in early October. One of the causes is the severe weather in Shandong at the beginning of October. This has caused the crops in the most extensive vegetable region of the country to fail.
But the local outbreaks of corona also play a role. The Chinese government always took drastic measures to contain the outbreaks. For example, in the large city of Lanzhou, no fewer than 6 million people are in lockdown. China also fears a new outbreak in February. Then both the Chinese New Year and the Olympic Winter Games take place in Beijing.
After all, China also depends to a large extent on food imports. That makes the country vulnerable to diplomatic tensions, such as with its main suppliers, the United States and Australia. Moreover, China has been hit by famine many times in its history. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, millions of people died in rural areas after the communist regime claimed farmland.