China turns to lemons, peaches and traditional medicine in wake of Covid wave - CNBC

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Farmers benignant and bundle lemons astatine a store connected November 24, 2020 successful Neijiang, Sichuan Province of China.

Huang Zhenghua | Visual China Group | Getty Images

Covid cases successful China saw a spike pursuing the country's relaxation of strict Covid rules. Also rising: the prices of accepted Chinese medicine and lemons, arsenic Chinese citizens scramble for extortion from the virus.

Prices of fruits affluent successful vitamin C and antioxidants are seeing surges owed to higher demand.

This month, 1 market store successful Beijing charged 13 yuan ($1.86) for 2 lemons, which is astir doubly the emblematic price.

Other locals person taken to societal media platforms specified arsenic Weibo to kick astir citrus inflation, with 1 idiosyncratic saying she forked retired 12 yuan ($1.72) for 3 lemons.

"I did not cognize that citrus prices could triple successful 1 day," posted different Weibo user.

At 1 point, lemons were retired of banal successful Chengdu connected e-commerce level Dingdong Maicai, according to a section media report.

Canned peaches are seeing a swell successful demand. Fresh Hippo, different e-commerce merchant owned by Alibaba, reported that week-on-week income of canned yellowish peaches popped astir 900%.

A announcement is posted astatine a assemblage wellness work presumption successful Beijing, China, December 14, 2022, showing that Chinese patent medicines specified arsenic Lianhua Qingwen granules are temporarily retired of stock.

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Shares of Chinese pharmaceutical companies progressive successful the accumulation of accepted Chinese medicine notched their highest levels successful a twelvemonth earlier this monnth, pursuing a spike successful Covid caseloads and endorsements by officials for the herbal remedies.

Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical, which produces the fashionable herbal attraction Lianhua Qingwen, surged 184% successful aboriginal December from a twelvemonth earlier.

China Resources Sanjiu Medical & Pharmaceutical likewise saw a much than 142% spike successful the extremity of November compared with the aforesaid play past year.

The president of the Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicines, Liu Qingquan, said successful a December briefing that accepted Chinese medicine, if taken with Western remedies, "has a precise bully effect" connected stimulating gastrointestinal functions arsenic good arsenic treating fever and different symptoms linked to the Omicron strain.

In the past fewer weeks, section and cardinal authorities authorities successful China U-turned from their draconian zero-Covid measures which, among different things, had required radical to enactment location and galore businesses to run mostly remotely.

On Monday, China announced that inbound travelers no longer request to quarantine upon accomplishment connected the mainland starting adjacent year.

- CNBC's Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report

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