China is fully capable of ensuring daily necessities supply, and laying a solid foundation for winning the battle against the novel coronavirus epidemic, according to the country's top economic planner Friday.
The supply of grain, edible oil, vegetables and other everyday necessities in both Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic, and elsewhere across China is adequate to meet the normal demand of the public, said Zhao Chenxin, deputy secretary general of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
With grain and oil inventories at historic highs and a well-run vegetable reserve mechanism, the country has adequate stockpiles of everyday necessities, Zhao said, adding Chinese families need not hoard life essentials.
Stockpiled vegetables, for instance, would be timely delivered if supply gap appeared in end markets such as supermarkets or wet markets in communities.
At the request of the NDRC, some leading companies have resumed the production of some much-needed daily necessities during the Spring Festival holiday.
A major problem the NDRC must tackle, however, is to ensure sustainable and reliable delivery of daily necessities while preventing the further spread of the virus.
The NDRC has activated an emergency mechanism to track price changes on a daily basis, and will take targeted measures to meet consumers' demand in different cities and forcefully crack down on price rigging and price inflating to maintain market order, the official said. Enditem
