03 November 2021
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Action to combat soaring costs in China
SEVERE weather, high production and transportation costs, epidemic prevention and control, and power cuts, have combined to significantly push up vegetable prices in China.
The potato is the only crop that is plantable in all regions of China, although the country has four main potato-planting regions: North China (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang).
Autumn is the season when vegetables are relatively in short supply. Director of the Institute of Business Economics at the Beijing Technology and Business University, Hong Tao, told the Global Times recently that the shortage has been further aggravated by the consumption recovery.
As a result, Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MOA) has requested local governments across the country coordinate and adjust production, circulation and consumption.
The ministry also asked to formulate emergency plans for disaster prevention and reduction in vegetable production at the earliest opportunity, in corresponding to the potential disruption posed by changing weather conditions and the upcoming La Nina phenomenon, which could bring a lower temperature than normal winters.