Obstacles to enterprises being able to resume production have not been fully removed, and differentiated prevention and control measures in some regions have also not been fully implemented, said officials with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) in a press conference on Saturday.

The Chinese government has recently been encouraging factories and companies to resume operation after weeks of break starting from the Lunar New Year and a delay caused by the spiking cases of the novel coronavirus nationwide. The fight against the COVID-19 outbreak will be a long term battle that also needs the support of economic output, authorities said.

With the number of employees returning to work increasing, coupled with the incomplete resumption of production in the upstream, some instant food items like noodles and frozen food are not in full supply. The logistics and transportation around Hubei Province are not smooth enough, and some regions are still blocking villages and have closed roads, which has interrupted the transportation, introduced Wang Bin, deputy director of the Department of Market Operation of the MOFCOM.

The commerce ministry said it has introduced a guideline to address these issues which requires local authorities to coordinate the resumption of production and epidemic prevention and control to minimize the impact of the epidemic on production and life.

Opening rate of catering business still low

The resumption rate of commerce and trade in the country continues to rise. The opening rate of chain supermarkets is more than 95 percent. The opening rate of chain convenience stores is about 80 percent, and vegetable stores in communities and vegetable markets have also resumed business, said Wang.

The opening rate of department stores and shopping centers, however, is about 50 percent, and the opening rate of some specialty stores and various catering companies along the street is still relatively low, said Wang.

The overall market for daily necessities has been abundant recently. Except for a rise in pork and beef prices, the prices of other categories have all fallen significantly, said Wang.

Wang also said that pig production rebounded for four consecutive months, and pork imports increased significantly. From January to early February, pork imports have increased by 3.5 times in the first half of the month. The ministry will release 35,000 tonnes of reserved pork. It will continue to organize the release of the pork later on.

Delivery services resume smoothly

Major courier companies like China Post, SF Express and JD Logistics have all resumed business, and the resumption rate of other courier companies registered 66.7 percent, said Wu Chungeng, director of Policy Research Office of the Ministry of Transport.

Wu also introduced the end-delivery policies in different areas and stressed a "one size fits all" measure should not be used.

For low-risk areas, normal delivery order should be fully resumed. Medium-risk areas should allow the deliverymen to enter the community and other management areas, on the basis of proper health protection. High-risk areas should provide relevant convenient measures for deliverymen instead of totally forbidding delivery, said Wu.

Many courier companies are encouraging "non-contact delivery" to reduce contagion risks, with the deliverymen putting orders in a self-collection container or a pre-determined place.