China's state planner says daily necessities supply remain stable amid epidemic

Supply of daily necessities has remained stable in China, including the epidemic-hit Hubei Province, in spite of the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak that clobbered daily life and factory production, the state planner said on Tuesday.

Officials from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) also told reporters during a briefing that China has ample policy tools and will roll out relevant measures at an appropriate time. 

An NDRC spokesperson said inventories of basic supplies like rice, flour, food oil and pork are steady in key areas and can last over 30 days.  

Online shopping has recently seen a year-on-year increase of 5 percent as new forms of business such as online education and home office work take off with most of the nation staying indoors in the last two months.

The country was hit hard by the pandemic over the past two months. It is reported the power generated and consumed saw a year-on-year decline of 8.2 percent and 7.8 percent respectively, while a U-turn was noted since the beginning of March.  

Among industries affected, small and medium-sized enterprises are the most vulnerable ones, hence authorities' vows to take more measures to help such group return their business back to normal since they make up most of China's employment.

With an ambitious goal of eradicating extreme poverty by the end of this year, many are wondering if the COVID-19 outbreak will undermine the process of achieving such a goal. 

NDRC officials claimed China's economy is resilient enough to bear the short-time loss and the country has strong policy instruments to minimize the impact of such epidemic. 

According to the IMF, China's economy is expected to go back to normal in June.