Online retailers in parts of China ran out of salt on Thursday after Japan began discharging treated radioactive wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant, setting off a buying frenzy among anxious consumers.
One of the world's biggest seafood importers, China banned all supplies of aquatic products from Japan in response to the discharge, citing the risk of radioactive contamination and fuelling consumer fears.
Several brands of salt were sold out on online food delivery sites in the coastal province of Fujian as well as in parts of Beijing and the commercial capital of Shanghai, according to media reports and Reuters tests.
China National Salt Industry Group has called for rational buying of salt products given that well salt and lake salt are the primary proportion of salt products in China, in response to the panic buying behaviors affected by Japan's nuclear pollution.
