China takes measures to ensure smooth Spring Festival return trips during travel rush

China's transport authorities are taking measures to ensure smooth return journeys for travelers as the eight-day Spring Festival holiday running from Jan 28 to Feb 4 draws to an end.

On the highways, return traffic is expected to be at its peak on Monday, marking the highest daily traffic volume of the entire Spring Festival travel rush, which runs from Jan 14 to Feb 22.

To improve traffic flow, measures have been rolled out to reduce congestion on busy road segments and increase vehicle processing efficiency at toll booths. Highway service areas across the country are promoting the use of ultrafast charging facilities, optimizing the distribution of these facilities based on traffic volume, and introducing intelligent solutions such as charging robots to ensure smooth travel.

The surge in passenger traffic has coincided with a new round of rain and snow in various parts of the country. Relevant authorities across the country are actively responding to the situation by timely deploying winter service vehicles to clear the snow from roads.

To increase passenger capacity, the railway system will introduce extra trains on select routes and operate longer trains on high-speed lines, thereby boosting overall transportation efficiency.

On Monday, major train stations in Shanghai also experienced a peak in return passenger flow. It is expected that the number of passengers arriving in Shanghai on Monday will exceed 768,000, with Shanghai Railway Station accommodating 193,000 passengers and Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station expecting 442,000 passengers.

For air travel, airports across the country have increased the frequency of flights on popular routes to cope with the surging passenger flow.

Since Saturday, airports in Hainan Province have experienced a surge in returning passengers, prompting local authorities to take proactive steps to guarantee safe and seamless travel experiences.

"We increased flight capacity and made timely adjustments, ensuring that all passengers can return safely and swiftly," said Zhou Junping, chairman of Hainan Development Holdings Co.

China takes measures to ensure smooth Spring Festival return trips during travel rush

Global food commodity prices climbed for a second consecutive month in March, driven mainly by higher energy costs linked to escalating conflict in the Middle East, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said in report released on Friday.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 128.5 points in March, up 2.4 percent from February and 1.0 percent above its level a year ago.

According to the report, the FAO Vegetable Oil Index and Sugar Price Index showed the largest increases, up 5.1 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.

The FAO Cereal Price Index increased by 1.5 percent from the previous month, driven primarily by higher world wheat prices, which rose 4.3 percent.

The FAO Meat Price Index rose by 1.0 percent from the previous month, and the FAO All-Rice Price Index declined by 3.0 percent in March, according to the report.

FAO stated that rising energy and fertilizer prices have been driving up agricultural input costs.

If the conflict stretches beyond 40 days, farmers will have to choose to farm the same with fewer inputs, plant less, or switch to less intensive fertilizer crops, according to FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero.

These choices will hit future yields and shape food supply and commodity prices for the rest of this year and beyond, Torero said.

Global food prices rise for 2nd consecutive month in March amid Middle East conflict: FAO