North China's Hebei rushes to replenish Beijing's vegetable supply

Workers carry boxes of sweet peppers at an agricultural industrial park in Nanhe County of Xingtai, north China's Hebei Province, June 16, 2020. North China's Hebei Province has asked its major vegetable-growing counties to prioritize supplies to Beijing, after the national capital closed its largest wholesale produce market of Xinfadi following a resurgence of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases linked to the market. The provincial department of agriculture and rural affairs has drafted 13 vegetable bases in 10 counties to guarantee the supply of vegetables to Beijing. (Xinhua/Zhu Xudong)

SHIJIAZHUANG, June 16 (Xinhua) -- North China's Hebei Province has asked its major vegetable-growing counties to prioritize supplies to Beijing, after the national capital closed its largest wholesale produce market of Xinfadi following a resurgence of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases linked to the market.

The provincial department of agriculture and rural affairs has drafted 13 vegetable bases in 10 counties to guarantee the supply of vegetables to Beijing.

Neighboring Beijing, Hebei has 290,000 hectares of vegetable fields, supplying cucumber, tomato, eggplant, peppers and leafy vegetables such as cabbage, celery and lettuce, which are currently in the middle and late stages of harvest.

The department's latest survey showed that Hebei will have 3.3 million tonnes of fresh vegetables harvested in June, with a daily supply capacity of 110,000 tonnes of vegetables, half of which are available to supply markets outside the province.

The closure of Xinfadi on Saturday has temporarily affected the vegetable distribution channels in Beijing. Shipping produce from Hebei is one of several emergency measures taken to coordinate resources and ensure the stable supply of food to the national capital.