The price of many staple foodstuffs has more than doubled in China's capital as residents stock up, alarmed by rumors that much of the city will close down due to atypical pneumonia.
In the Jingkelong supermarket, a popular chain in Beijing, eggs that cost 1.8 yuan last week are now 3.5 yuan (US$0.40).
PHOTO: REUTERS
In the Huapu supermarket, onions now cost five yuan, five times the published price a week ago. Tomatoes have increased by 30 percent.
"The majority of prices are stable and the Communist Party will not let people die of hunger, but the government should not let them raise prices like this," said Wang Jian, an elderly man who complained the panic buying was an overeaction.
"Look at me, I do not carry a mask, it is ridiculous that all these people are stocking up. It's an overreaction," he said.
The rush on supermarkets started earlier this week as the rumor mill ground out reports that trains would stop running to Beijing, and the city of 13 million would be isolated with tough new quarantine measures in place.
"The panic started Tuesday afternoon. They are pouring in," said a cashier at a supermarket in eastern Beijing. "I'm buying this stuff because I heard the city is going to be isolated," said one elderly shopper.
It follows the government's admission that the extent of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic was far worse than it initially admitted, with the numbers of confirmed cases in Beijing jumping from 44 to 774 in a matter of days.
Add to that 39 deaths and Beijingers are a bag of nerves.
The rumors have been categorically denied in the state-run press, but many Beijing residents do not believe the rhetoric nor assurances from the government that shops will remain open and fully stocked.
Earlier this week, the government said it was urgently working to check price rises by launching a nationwide check on excessive charges for drugs and staple foodstuffs.
The State Development and Reform Commission said in an emergency notice that it would "severely punish" those profiting from SARS fears, but it appears not to have stopped vendors.
After disappearing from shops during the week as demand soared, many products have reappeared but at prices considered to be prohibitory.
At a market in Yonganli district, the price of green vegetables has doubled, and in some cases tripled, customers complain.
"I'm buying all this because then I will then not need to leave home," said one woman as she loaded her car with crates of vegetables and fruit.
The price of rice has also doubled in some street markets, if it can be found.
Many people complain it has become difficult to find basic products like rice, oil, noodles, sugar and salt
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