For unknown reasons, China calls on its citizens to stock up...

The Chinese government called on its people to stock up on food reserves, without specifying the reason for the call, or whether the country is threatened by food shortages, amid a limited outbreak of the Corona virus that has disrupted transportation – according to Al Arabiya Net –

Yesterday, Monday evening, the Ministry of Commerce published an announcement on its website calling on families to stock a certain amount of basic products to meet daily needs and emergencies.

The ministry also called on various local authorities to facilitate agricultural production, agricultural production flow and supply, monitor meat and vegetable stocks, and maintain price stability.

Supply chains were disrupted by quarantine at the height of the coronavirus outbreak in early 2020 in several parts of the country and many highways were closed.

With the Winter Olympics in Beijing approaching next February, the government fears a new outbreak of the epidemic and has taken drastic measures in recent weeks after sporadic outbreaks appeared in the north of the country.

More than six million people were quarantined, mainly in Lanzhou, 1,700 kilometers west of Beijing.

However, the number of documented cases is still very low compared to reports recorded in the rest of the world.

Yesterday, Monday, Chinese newspapers reported that the prices of 28 food commodities rose last month by 16% from the previous month, based on official data.

Last year, President Xi Jinping called on his fellow citizens to save money, denouncing food waste.

Likewise, China experienced periods of famine in its history, especially in the late fifties and early sixties when the system of collective land ownership imposed by the communist regime caused tens of millions of deaths in the countryside.