Staff members work overtime to package commodities at the distribution site of

 mid-Zhejiang logistics center of agricultural and sideline products

 (photographed on the afternoon of August 9)

Citizens shop in the supermarket (photographed on the afternoon of August 9)

Various kinds of commodities in Yiwu’s supermarkets 

(photographed on the afternoon of August 9)

The distribution site of mid-Zhejiang logistics center of agricultural and sideline

 products (photographed on the afternoon of August 9)

“At this present time, our main task is to guarantee the supply of daily goods for residents in the areas that are medium risk. We select reliable supply companies and ensure that the materials will be delivered on time in the days to come,” said the director of the special working group for ensuring adequate supply in Yiwu on August 9.

To guarantee the living materials of the residents in the medium and high-risk areas, the Yiwu Market Development Group—as one of the two main supply companies in Jinhua—is busy preparing materials for the citizens’ daily life. Fu Yunfei, deputy manager of the business operation department, stated that they are expected to deliver 90,000 packages of living materials ordered by the government in the next two days, which is an arduous task. Members of the Yiwu Market Development Group have taken the lead in coordinating their subordinate distribution companies to try and accomplish the task on time. These companies include the mid-Zhejiang logistics center of agricultural and sideline products as well as the markets of non-staple food and grain.

“We plan to organize the supply companies and prepare the materials in advance. As soon as the municipal command center issues the order, we can immediately organize manpower to sort and package the goods overnight. We will distribute the packages on time the next day according to the demand of each point.” Fu Yunfei said that more than 1,500 workers of their company directly or indirectly participate in the supply work every day, and many staff members live in the mid-Zhejiang logistics center of agricultural and sideline products. They work overtime to do the supply work efficiently.

To better accomplish the task, the special working group for ensuring adequate supply has formulated a flowchart of emergency supply. In this flowchart, every process is clear: receive the report of confirmed cases, delimit risk areas, set up special working groups, select supply companies, purchase living materials, and then distribute the materials. Through this emergency supply system, everyone knows their job and the contacts of each link. As of August 8, a total of 152,151 daily necessities have been distributed, covering 209,172 people. Some areas have already launched the second round of distribution. According to the director of Yiwu’s special working group for ensuring adequate supply, they will work with the supply companies to fully meet the living needs of residents in medium and high-risk areas, so that residents in the area can better cooperate in the pandemic prevention and control work.

In addition, Yiwu currently has a sufficient supply of living materials with stable prices. Yiwu Grain Market is the distribution center of grain and oil in central Zhejiang, with an inventory of more than 15,000 tons. The inventory of rice can support the city for 18 days, and the edible oil for 16 days. Its average daily intake of vegetables is about 1,500 tons. As for Yiwu Farmers Market, the average daily intake of vegetables reached more than 2,000 tons. The supply channels for vegetables, eggs, poultry, seafood, and aquatic products in the market are smooth and can maintain a dynamic balance of supply and sales. In terms of supermarkets, twelve large supermarkets in Yiwu that are not included in the medium and high-risk areas are operating normally with sufficient supplies. (Text by Gong Yan, photo by Lü Bin, translated by Wei Han, edited by Daniel Haws)