Guangdong provincial salt administration bureau said Guangdong province has ample salt supply to meet people's needs and panic buying and hoarding is unnecessary, after panic buying of salt in Guangdong on Wednesday.
Guangdong Salt Corporation has launched an emergency response mechanism to monitor the market supply, and 24 hours on duty.
Related: China affirms ample salt supply, relieving hoarding panic
Staff members check boxes of salt at a warehouse in Zhuji, east China's Zhejiang Province, March 16, 2011. Some people believe that eating iodised salt could prevent themselves against some harmful radioactivity from leaks at a nuclear plant in Japan, which caused many residents rush to markets to buy the salt in China. Meanwhile, experts say that eating too much salt will lead to bad effects for human health. China National Salt Industry Corp. (CNSIC) on Thursday said Chinahas rich salt reserves to meet people's demand and consumers need not panic to hoard salt. (Xinhua/Guo Bin)
China's largest salt maker relieved public concern Thursday, saying the country has substantial salt reserves to meet the demand for the product.
"We have ample salt reserves to meet people's needs and panic buying and hoarding is unnecessary," China National Salt Industry Corp. (China Salt), the country largest salt company, said in a statement to Xinhua.
China Salt said the company has launched an emergency response mechanism to step up production and start a 24-hour distribution program.
Dong Yongsheng, deputy general manager of China Salt, said the tight supply of salt in some cities came after panic buying reduced stocks.
"This is an irrational phenomenon," Dong said, "in fact, the salt reserve is quite substantial in China and salt companies usually have stocks for three months' consumption."
Dong said China has an annual salt production capacity of more than 80 million tonnes but the country's consumption of edible salt was about 8 million tonnes a year.
"We are completely capable of guaranteeing the supply of edible salt in the country," he said.
