A staff member offers parking direction to a lorry driver at one of the five temporary trading venues designated following the suspension of the Xinfadi wholesale market in Beijing, capital of China, June 14, 2020. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)
BEIJING, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Most of the latest COVID-19 cases reported in Beijing over the weekend have been related to Xinfadi, a large wholesale market of fruits, vegetables, and meat for the capital with a population of more than 21 million.
The Xinfadi market was established in 1988 in south Beijing, in the then village of Xinfadi, which was home to vegetable plots. Today the market supplies about 70 percent of the capital's vegetables, 10 percent of pork, and three percent of beef and mutton.
Xinfadi was primarily a one-hectare bazaar with only 15 administration staff. It has grown into the largest farm produce wholesale market in Beijing over the past three decades.
A fruit dealer unloads watermelons at one of the five temporary trading venues designated following the suspension of the Xinfadi wholesale market in Beijing, capital of China, June 14, 2020. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)
The market has expanded to 112 hectares with 1,500 management personnel. It accommodates about 2,000 booths and more than 4,000 tenants, with 18,000 tonnes of vegetables, 20,000 tonnes of fruits, and 1,500 tonnes of seafood, in addition to meat and other agricultural goods being traded daily.
Xinfadi has opened 14 branches nationwide and runs production bases with a total area of 200,000 hectares in major domestic agricultural regions.
Last year, Xinfadi traded 17.5 million tonnes of transaction volumes, with a turnover of 131.9 billion yuan (about 18.6 billion U.S. dollars). Among the more than 4,600 domestic farm produce wholesale markets, Xinfadi has ranked first for 17 consecutive years in terms of transaction volume and turnover.
The market was temporarily suspended on Saturday following the latest COVID-19 cases. The municipal authorities have designated new trading areas to ensure market supplies. Before the suspension, it saw 10,000 people flow in and out each day. ■
