Farmers sort and pack lemons at a workshop on November 24, 2020 in Neijiang, China’s Sichuan province.
Hoang Chinh Hoa | China Visual Corporation | beautiful pictures
Covid cases in China spiked after the country relaxed its strict zero-tolerance rules. Also rising: the price of lemons and traditional Chinese medicine, as Chinese people scramble for protection from the virus.
Prices of fruits rich in vitamin C and antioxidants are increasing sharply due to higher demand.
This month, a grocery store in Beijing charged 13 yuan ($1.86) for two lemons, double the usual price.
Other locals took to social media platforms like Weibo to complain about lemon inflation, with one user said she spent 12 yuan ($1.72) for three lemons.
“I didn’t know the price of lemons could triple in one day,” posted another Weibo user.
At one point, lemons were out of stock in Chengdu on e-commerce platform Dingdong Maicai, according to a source. local media reports.
Canned peaches are in high demand. Fresh Hippo, another e-commerce merchant owned by Alibaba, reported that weekly sales of canned gold peaches nearly 900% new.
A notice posted at a community health service station in Beijing, China, December 14, 2022, shows that Chinese patent drugs such as Lianhua Qingwen beads are temporarily out of stock.
CFOTO | Future Publishing | beautiful pictures
Shares in Chinese pharmaceutical companies involved in the production of traditional Chinese medicine hit a one-year high earlier this month, after the number of Covid-19 infections spiked and confirm by officials for herbal remedies.
Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceuticalsmanufacturer of the popular herbal treatment Lianhua Qingwen, grew 184% in early December from a year earlier.
Chinese Resources Sanjiu . Medical & Pharmaceutical similarly, a spike of more than 142% at the end of November compared to the same period last year.
The director of Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Liu Qingquan, said in an interview. December briefing that traditional Chinese medicine, if taken together with Western treatments, “works very well” in stimulating gastrointestinal function as well as treating fever and other related symptoms. to the Omicron strain.
Over the past few weeks, central and local government agencies in China have abandoned draconian Covid-free measures that, among others, have asked people to stay home and many businesses are largely operating. remote motion.
On Monday, China announced that domestic tourists no longer need to quarantine when coming to the mainland starting next year.
– Evelyn Cheng of CNBC contributed to this report
