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

Farmers sort and package lemons at a workshop on November 24, 2020 in Neijiang, Sichuan Province of China.

There was a spike in Covid cases in China after the country relaxed its rules. The prices of traditional Chinese medicine and lemons are going up.

The prices of fruits with high levels of vitamins C and E are going up.

One grocery store in Beijing charged more for lemons than the average price.

I didn't know that lemon prices could triple in a single day.

According to a local media report, lemons were out of stock in the city.

People are buying canned peaches. According to Fresh Hippo, sales of canned yellow peaches jumped almost 900% in a week.

A notice is posted at a community health service station in Beijing, China, December 14, 2022, showing that Chinese patent medicines such as Lianhua Qingwen granules are temporarily out of stock.

Following a spike in Covid caseloads and endorsements by officials for the herbal remedies, the shares of Chinese pharmaceutical companies involved in the production of traditional Chinese medicine have reached their highest levels in a year.

In the month of December, Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical surged 184% from a year ago.

In the end of November, China Resources Sanjiu Medical & Pharmaceutical saw a 142% increase compared to the same time last year.

The president of the Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicines said in a December briefing that traditional Chinese medicine, if taken with Western remedies, has a very good effect.

In the past few weeks, local and central government authorities in China U-turned from their zero- Covid measures which, among other things, had required people to stay home.

Beginning next year, inbound travelers will no longer need to stay on the mainland in order to get to their destinations.

Evelyn Cheng worked for CNBC.