Chinese stock up on food as temperatures fall and Covid-19 spreads

Two grandmothers with their granddaughter trade vegetables at a market on the outskirts of Shanghai.

Beijing shoppers stocked up on cabbage, rice and flour for the winter on Wednesday, after the government urged people to keep stores of basic goods in case of emergencies, though it assured them there were sufficient supplies after some panic buying.

China's Ministry of Commerce published a seasonal notice on Monday encouraging authorities to do a good job in ensuring food supplies and stable prices ahead of winter, following a recent spike in the prices of vegetables and a growing outbreak of Covid-19.

But the ministry's advice to households to also stock up on daily necessities in case of emergencies prompted significant confusion, sending some rushing to supermarkets to purchase extra supplies of cooking oil and rice. read more

"It's going to be a cold winter, we want to make sure we have enough to eat," said one woman loading rice onto a bicycle outside a supermarket in central Beijing.