Life in the Times of Coronavirus: How China is Reopening

Editor's Note: Amy Zhong lives in Qingyuan city of Guangdong province and is a regular contributor and correspondent of Urner Barry's SeafoodNews.com. Below is her account of living in China during the coronavirus outbreak and how the country is working to reopen.

This is an unusually bad Spring Festival, and it has witnessed the beginning of a period of uncertainties and suffering. Previously hustling streets in China were mostly empty during the holiday, and people no longer splurged to celebrate the most important festival. Now, this healing oriental country is undergoing some changes.

Everything still seemed normal to me around mid-January. Though I heard news about some virus hitting Hubei, I had no idea that it would be that serious...

China Xiangtai Food Co. Reports 300% Supermarket Sales Growth Amidst the Novel Coronavirus Outbreak

China Xiangtai Food Co. Ltd., an emerging growth company primarily engaged in pork processing in China, today announced that its supermarket sales growth of 300% during Chinese New Year 2020 compared to the same period of last year despite of the ongoing 2019 Novel Coronavirus.

To meet the public demand for food and to stabilize the pork price in the market, the Company has increased its efforts to ease the negative impact of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus on food supplies by continuing operating its business with transparency and integrity, keeping its pork price fair and stable, and...

China's Ministry of Commerce Guarantees Sufficient Pork Supply Ahead of New Year Celebrations

On January 25, 2020, China will celebrate the Lunar New Year. As the most important traditional festival for China, the celebration is dependent on preparations including increasing availability of various meats, organic vegetables, and imported fruits. After an outbreak of African swine fever decimated the Chinese hog herd, China has been gearing up for the holiday by releasing pork from state reserves and increasing imports of the most desired meat in the country.

According to an Urner Barry pork analysis, export demand reached record levels in November in anticipation of the Lunar New Year Holiday. In early November, the resumption of exports from Canada and China was announced, creating more tightness in the United States' domestic market as Canada shifted their exports from the U.S. and Mexico to China. By December, China's pork imports surged...

U.S. Embassy in China Issues Warning to Travelers Over Mysterious Pneumonia Outbreak

The U.S. Embassy in China is urging travelers to Wuhan to be cautious.

As SeafoodNews reported earlier this week, Wuhan, the capital of Central China's Hubei province, is dealing with a mysterious outbreak of pneumonia linked to a seafood market. The first case of pneumonia was reported around December 12, 2019, and to date there have been 59 cases.

Since the outbreak, the seafood market in question, South China Seafood City, has been closed for environmental sanitation and disinfection. But while the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission has...