Supply of daily necessities sufficient in Beijing: commerce ministry

The supply of daily necessities in Beijing is generally sufficient and prices are basically stable, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday, following the recent emergence of new clusters of COVID-19 infections in the city.

On Wednesday, average retail prices for pork, a staple meat in China, remained unchanged from the previous day in Beijing, while average retail prices of vegetables from key enterprises monitored by the ministry saw an increase of 4.7 percent, MOC spokesperson Gao Feng said during a press conference.

To further stabilize the supply and prices of daily necessities, the ministry has helped the capital add 5,000 tonnes of vegetable reserves, while supporting supermarket chains in ramping up the inventory of grains and edible oil, Gao said.

By Wednesday, Beijing had reported 578 confirmed domestically transmitted cases, including nine deaths and 411 people who had been discharged from hospitals after recovery. The city has been reporting a daily double-digit rise in domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases since June 11, after a 57-day period featuring no new domestically transmitted cases.