Soldiers unload disaster relief in Wuhan, China, on Friday. (AP)

Beijing, Feb. 1: The effects of China’s weather crisis on its economy worsened yesterday as the devastation of winter crops added to pressures on food prices.

The heaviest snowstorms to hit the centre and south of the country in 50 years have continued to cause havoc to Chinese New Year travel plans, with 105 million people affected — 45 million more than the total population of Britain.

Millions are stranded on roads, stuck on slow-moving trains or in temporary shelters around railway stations.

A staggering 150,000 homes have collapsed and another 650,000 have been seriously damaged, say disaster relief officials. At least 60 people have been killed in the storms.

The long-term effects were looking equally ominous. “The impact of the snow disaster in southern China on winter crop production is extremely serious,” said Chen Xiwen, the government’s leading expert on the agricultural economy. “The impact on fresh vegetables and on fruit in some places has been catastrophic.” With rising Chinese demand also contributing to inflation in food prices across the world, economists will also be calculating the international consequences.

“China is not insulated from world markets,” said Adam Leyland, editor of The Grocer magazine. “Increased demand for certain staples in China has had an effect on global prices.”

Last week The Daily Telegraph reported that early frosts in China caused a reduction in the apple crop last year, which has contributed to a doubling of the price of apple juice concentrate on the world markets.

With Chinese industry also facing the threat of a lower demand for goods in its major US and European markets because of the credit crunch. The snowfalls over areas of the country that rarely see really cold weather could not have come at a worse time.

Government figures said that snow had destroyed crops on 3,000 square miles of land. Wholesalers in Beijing reported that supplies of some foodstuffs were down to a fifth of normal levels. In areas directly affected by the snow, such as the central industrial cities of Wuhan and Changsha, food prices have already doubled.

The government predicted that the inflation rate for January would remain at a high 6.5 per cent, the same as for December.