BEIJING — China has smoothed channels to promote the sales of farm produce stock hit by the coronavirus fallout.

Vice-Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Han Jun said on Feb 17 that priority should be given to the purchase and delivery of agricultural products produced in impoverished regions and called on e-commerce platforms to open up an anti-epidemic farm produce section to help farmers weather the impact.

Affected by the epidemic outbreak, sales of vegetables, fruit and poultry have felt the pinch of blocked transport and sales channels.

However, the current issue is just a phase and only seen in some regions with the provinces of Hainan, Yunnan and Hubei as well as Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region being hit the hardest, Han said.

He urged local departments to join hands in ensuring the smooth and fast operation of channels for fresh farm produce transport while encouraging authorities to introduce support policies for logistics and subsidize logistics firms and personnel.