Produce: Supplies to Beijing Ensured

2 | Friday, June 19, 2020 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY PAGE TWO Vegetables are sorted at a makeshift trading area in Beijing on Monday after the Xinfadi market closed temporarily for disinfection. ZOU HONG / CHINA DAILY Produce: Supplies to Beijing ensured From page 1 and “fruit platter”. ket, which was basically a bazaar It is worthy of such labeling. Last standing on 1 hectare of land. The By Sunday, more than 8,000 peo- year, more than 17 million metric startup capital was 150,000 yuan. ple who trade or shop at the market tons of produce was traded at the During the past 32 years, many had received nucleic acid tests and market, with a turnover of 132 bil- vendors have transformed their been transferred to isolation loca- lion yuan ($18.6 million). lives by working at Xinfadi. tions for medical observation. Out of more than 4,600 domestic Prices at the market are low and Some 200,000 people are estimat- agricultural product wholesale mar- the paperwork is easy, which has ed to have visited the market since kets, Xinfadi has ranked in first place attracted a large number of vendors May 30, based on a citywide data for 17 consecutive years in terms of from nearby districts and neighbor- collection campaign conducted by trading volume and turnover. ing cities. As a result, the venue’s size communities. All of them will be giv- Founded on May 16, 1988, the and trading volume have grown en nucleic acid testing and will market has expanded rapidly in tan- annually. remain at home in self-isolation. dem with the country’s economic In 2002 and 2003, as the capital Before the latest cases occurred, growth. prepared to host the 2008 Beijing Xinfadi was known affectionately as Initially, there were just 15 man- Olympic Games, several downtown the capital’s “giant veggie basket” agement staff members at the mar- wholesale markets had to relocate to improve both traffic and environ- mental conditions. Many vendors who worked at these markets decided to move to Xinfadi, which lies about 20 kilome- ters southwest of the city center. The market gradually became known for its fresh farm produce. Li Tingzhen, who lives in a resi- dential building near the venue, said he is among the first to visit it most days to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. He also likes going to morning markets, but as their numbers are declining, he feels that he can get a similar experience at Xinfadi. “Buying such produce early in the morning at Xinfadi makes me happy. It feels rewarding — as though Top: Fruit sellers unload watermelons at a temporary trading area in Beijing on Sunday. JU HUANZONG / XIN- my life has been enriched,” he said. HUA Above: Workers at a farm in Xingtai, Hebei province, load peppers bound for Beijing on Tuesday. ZHU XUDONG / XINHUA Busy buyer The majority of buyers at the market are from restaurants, supermar- channels, authorities are stepping produce wholesale market owned ket chains, fruit stalls and online up efforts to coordinate market by the Xinfadi group in Gaobeidian, farm produce shopping platforms. Buying such produce resources, and food supplies in Bei- Baoding, has set up a 50 million They visit from 3 am to 4 am each jing can be guaranteed. yuan fund to organize and allocate day to buy produce at the best pri- early in the morning By Tuesday morning, 2,100 tons of farm produce needed urgently in ces. at Xinfadi makes me vegetables had been sold at the Xin- Beijing. Wang Han, who owns a small res- fadi temporary fruit and vegetable “Produce being transported that taurant at the market, has been buy- happy. It feels trading area, a 20 percent rise on the was originally destined for Beijing ing ingredients at Xinfadi for five rewarding — as previous day, according to the can be transferred to Hebei Xinfadi,” years. bureau. a notice issued by Hebei Xinfadi “I’m pretty familiar with the vege- though my life has “Many small vendors have come Agricultural Products Co stated. table sections, where all the produce been enriched.” to trade at the temporary market, The Xinfadi market in Beijing is is clearly marked,” he said. which shows they are confident among Hebei Xinfadi’s sharehold- “For instance, flowering cabbages Li Tingzhen, Beijing resident about the control measures taken,” ers, but the two venues have their from Beijing and Ningxia Hui Wang Hongcun said. “Turnover for own suppliers. autonomous region are placed on farm produce at the venue is grow- In Beijing’s Xicheng district, different stands, and various types Many private businesspeople ing steadily.” implementation of an emergency of potatoes are provided by different such as Wang Huajuan visit the He added that six other large plan is ensuring that food supplies vendors. You can always find what market frequently to buy produce wholesale markets across Beijing reach the public. A temporary stock you need as long as you spend in an attempt to reduce costs. acted quickly to increase their vege- house has been set up to deliver veg- enough time there.” After Xinfadi closed due to the table supplies. etables directly to the capital from First-time visitors to Xinfadi will new COVID-19 cases, many such Hebei and Shandong provinces and find it impossible to see all of the businesses faced a shortage of stock Rapid response Inner Mongolia autonomous market in one day. However, Wang for two days until Monday, when a Supermarket chains also region. can complete his purchases within temporary fruit and vegetable trad- responded rapidly to ensure In Chaoyang district, online and 30 minutes. ing area started operating near the daily supplies for downtown offline platforms are being used to For his business to make a profit, market. areas. supply produce to the city, while he depends heavily on the market, On Tuesday, to ensure normal For example, Beijing Jingkelong many supermarkets have capped as it supplies vegetables at half the supplies of fruit and vegetables in Supermarket Chain Co tripled vegetable prices and promised not price charged at other venues. Beijing during the temporary clo- direct purchases of vegetables from to raise them for the time being. Wang Huajuan, who runs a small sure of Xinfadi, produce previously Hebei and Shandong provinces, Meanwhile, the Xinfadi market vegetable store in Beijing, relies on traded at the market was trans- ensuring stable and orderly food remains closed and is being fully Xinfadi to make a living, according ferred to designated areas. supplies in the capital. disinfected. The huge trading area Top: Vegetables are unloaded at a temporary trading area in Beijing to news portal jiemian. Wang Hongcun, an official with Some cities in neighboring Hebei stands eerily quiet, and it is hard to on Monday. ZOU HONG / CHINA DAILY Center: Vendors at the Xinfadi mar- Facing fierce competition from the Beijing Municipal Commerce province have also taken steps to imagine just how busy it was. ket move to a nearby temporary trading area. ZOU HONG / CHINA DAILY supermarket chains, she can sell her Bureau, said that although the increase supplies of agricultural However, Wang, the restaurant Above: A customer selects beef at a supermarket in the capital on vegetables at a lower price thanks to measures taken at Xinfadi have produce to Beijing. owner, said he believes it will soon Monday. WANG ZHUANGFEI / CHINA DAILY buying them from the complex. temporarily affected distribution Hebei Xinfadi, an agricultural become just as noisy as before..

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