BEIJING: China’s vegetable production is “basically normal” and it has enough wheat to meet demand for one and a half years, agriculture officials said on Thursday, in a further effort to reassure the public there’s no need to worry about shortages.

Shoppers rushed to stock up on staples this week after the commerce ministry advised the public to make sure they had enough daily necessities at home in case of emergencies.

Supermarkets in various cities around the country saw flour, rice and other food items flying off the shelves.

Despite a recent increase in the price of spinach, lettuce and other leafy vegetables due to extreme weather, the area and output of other major varieties had slightly increased, Tang Ke, director general of the Department of Market and Informatization under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs told reporters.

“The total supply is sufficient so consumers don’t need to worry,” he said.

China is expected to produce 750 million tonnes of vegetables this year, an increase of 1%, added Tang, providing a possible 1.5 kg a day per person.

Both the rice and wheat crops increased this year and the output of both of China’s main staples exceeded consumption, said Liu Lihua, deputy director at the ministry’s planting management department.

China also has plenty of grain in state reserves, she added, with wheat stocks enough to cover consumption for one year and a half years.

China also processes enough rice noodles a day to meet the whole population’s consumption for two days, she said.

“Even when the domestic COVID-19 epidemic was at its worst last year, there was abundant supply of grain in supermarkets,” said Liu.

Still, Tang said further efforts were being made to guarantee sufficient vegetable production, with the government “guiding” big producers to expand output and empty greenhouses in northern areas to resume operations.