China is having terrible floods all over the country. Where are its emergency food reserves? I searched online for news or photos of food distribution in flood areas and found nothing.
On July 19, the director of China's Food and Strategic Commodity Reserves Administration went to Shanghai--hit by serious flooding this week--to inspect emergency reserves. He is shown in a warehouse accompanied by 10 people who are all contemplating a folding emergency table about 2 feet tall for use in disaster areas. No food or other items are visible in the warehouse. Wooden structures in the background are hidden behind a black curtain.
The director issued orders about building up reserves to prepare for disasters, locating them strategically, and replenishing them, but he said nothing about distributing food supplies to areas devastated by floods this month--including Shanghai. Are the food reserves a myth? Are the warehouses flooded?
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| Canned food for emergency use is for sale on the Taobao platform. It can be stored up to 30 months. |
Chinese regulations require that cities store packaged staples such as rice, flour, and cooking oil for emergencies. Cities also hold pork reserves.
A pamphlet about emergency supplies issued in 2023 by the Food and Commodity Reserves Administration shows pictures of boats, generators, tents, stretchers, the emergency food table, and warehouses with boxes stacked on shelves. According to the pamphlet "Central disaster relief supplies are categorized into items such as tents, bedding and clothing, and equipment; specific examples include tents, padded overcoats, quilts, sleeping bags, folding beds, folding tables and chairs, portable toilets, and household emergency kits." The pamphlet never mentions food except when it appears in the agency's name.
Similarly, food reserves were mostly missing in action during covid-19 lockdowns 5 years ago when many people locked in their homes went hungry.
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