Hong Kong authorities appealed for calm, stressing that the city, with the help of the Chinese mainland, has a stable goods supply and sufficient food reserves to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
The Hong Kong government and food suppliers on Tuesday (Mar. 1) urged residents of the city not to panic shop, as there is more than enough food to go around.
In a Tuesday statement, a government spokesman said that the supply of vegetables arriving in Hong Kong by land and sea on Monday was about 2,100 metric tons, nearly 90 per cent of the average daily supply of vegetables from the mainland last year. Overall vegetable prices are also stable.
The total supply of chilled meat from the mainland yesterday was about 40 percent more than Hong Kong's daily average supply from the mainland. The Tsuen Wan Slaughterhouse, which had been closed due to mass infections among practitioners, has reopened after thorough cleaning and disinfection.
Stockholders of rice also reported supplies sufficient for 30 days of local consumption, double the government's requirement. Suppliers generally reserve around three months' stock of food that can be stored, such as frozen goods.
Yuen Tai Trading Co, a major supplier of canned food in Hong Kong, told local media the company has stored enough for the next 2.5 months, half a month more than usual. This month alone, the company has seen about 1 million cans of canned food arrive at its warehouses.
The company said it has received calls for orders double the normal quantity. It said its stockpile is enough to handle a surge of demand even if the government imposes a full lockdown during the planned mass testing in March.
But the company said it has no plans to increase the price of commodities in the near future.
Earlier a message claiming the city's Legislative Council is considering a seven-day lockdown of Hong Kong during mass testing spread through the internet. It led to massive panic buying and shelves in major supermarkets going empty.
The LegCo Secretariat on Monday in a statement debunked the rumors, saying no discussion on imposing a full lockdown of the city had been conducted in LegCo.
Noting the empty shelves of supermarkets, Thomas Ng Wing-yan, chairman of the Hong Kong Food Council, said the public need not worry about food supplies.
The transportation of food and daily necessities are temporarily affected owing to a surge of infections among cross-boundary truck drivers, Ng said, which increased logistics costs.
But there is enough food supply and no need to panic shop, he said, adding that major supermarkets have abundant supplies in their warehouses.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam stressed that as the supplies of food and goods remain normal and air cargo operations continue, the public need not worry. They should stay vigilant and pay attention to the information disseminated by the government in order to avoid being misled by rumors, she said.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has been working closely with the Guangdong and Shenzhen authorities to devise more ways of ensuring a stable supply of fresh food, vegetables and other goods from the mainland to Hong Kong, including the Sea Express service launched recently, and the transportation of goods by rail being planned for implementation, Lam added.
(Source: China Daily)
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