Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- China ordered the largest deployment of troops in at least a decade to clear ice and restore transport links and power supplies after the worst snowstorms since 1954.

About 600,000 people remained stranded in the southern city of Guangzhou days before the start of the Lunar New Year holiday, when tens of millions of migrant workers return home. The government boosted food supplies to prevent hoarding and ordered shops to stop raising food prices, while the weather bureau warned the country to prepare for more snow until Feb. 2.

``We're facing challenges that are unprecedented in 50 years,'' Zhu Hongren, spokesman for the National Development and Reform Commission, the state planning agency, said today at a news conference. ``We haven't passed the most difficult time.''

Blizzards in eastern, central and southern China over the past two weeks have caused an estimated 32.7 billion yuan ($4.5 billion) of economic losses, destroying crops, causing power cuts and forcing smelters and carmakers to reduce or halt production. Airports, railway stations and highways in Shanghai and major cities were snared in logjams.

About 158,000 soldiers from the People's Liberation Army, 303,000 paramilitary members and almost 1 million police joined the relief effort, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. At least 17 of China's 31 provinces and major cities have experienced blackouts, affecting 30 million people, the agency said.

Wen's Visit

``We are working on the power shortage,'' Premier Wen Jiabao told passengers this morning at Guangzhou Railway Station, where he arrived to direct relief efforts, according to Xinhua. ``As soon as the power supply resumes, everything will go smoothly.''

The government has allocated 293 million yuan for emergency relief in the worst-hit provinces including Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, Jiangxi and Anhui, it said today.

Ice and sleet again blocked the Jingzhu Expressway connecting the capital Beijing with Zhuhai and Guangzhou in the south, a day after it was reopened, Xinhua said. More than 1,000 vehicles were stuck on the road.

While Wen promised passengers yesterday at Changsha railway station in the south that they would be home for the new year, the China Meteorological Association today advised people in affected areas to stay home, saying harsh weather will continue for at least three more days. Blizzards are forecast in southwestern China until Feb. 6, the Chinese Weather Information Service said.

Houses Destroyed

About 149,000 houses have been destroyed and 602,000 damaged, with 1.62 million people relocated, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said today. At least 55 people have died.

The army and paramilitary personnel deployed are the most since at least 1998, when about 300,000 soldiers were sent to battle flooding at the Yangtze River.

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce today wrote to its 4,000 members, urging those with factories in the Pearl River Delta to re-open dormitories, it said in an e-mailed statement. The plea came after the government of the neighboring Chinese province of Guangdong asked companies to allow their workers to remain at their factories during the Chinese New Year peak travel season to help ease the traffic congestion.

Hong Kong businessmen employ an estimated 9 million workers at about 60,000 companies in the Pearl River Delta region on the mainland, the chamber said.

Stocks Decline

China's CSI 300 stock index fell 1.1 percent, weighed down by banks including Huaxia Bank Co. and metal processors such as Huludao Zinc Industry Co., on concern the snowstorms will reduce consumption and metal production.

Deliveries of steel, mostly carried by rail, have been delayed and coal stockpiles have dropped to only three days of supply, Luo Bingsheng, vice chairman of the China Iron and Steel Association, said today in Beijing. Angang Steel Co. has reported severe shortages of coal, he added.

Vegetable prices surged by as much as 50 percent in 11 of China's 31 provinces, the country's planning commission said today. The government has ordered provincial trade officials to ``stabilize'' vegetable and food prices.

Cucumber prices have risen to 8.2 yuan per kilo from 5 yuan 10 days ago, and broccoli almost tripled to 8.2 yuan per kilo from 2.8 yuan in Beijing, which relies on supplies from the south, Xinhua reported, citing 45-year-old market wholesaler Huang Tianlu.

Rapeseed, vegetables, wheat and other crops in 16 provinces have been damaged by rain and snowstorms, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement on its Web site today, saying damage may spread as the bad weather continues.

Rising Yuan

The yuan climbed to the highest since the end of a link to the U.S. currency in 2005 on speculation the snowstorms will exacerbate inflation, paving the way for faster currency gains.

Disruptions to traffic and power supply forced some carmakers to suspend operations.

Toyota Motor Corp. will halt production of its Crown sedan and Reiz compact cars in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality because of the snowstorms, spokeswoman Hiromi Hirooka said by telephone today. Honda Motor Co. will halt output at a factory in Guangdong province in the south, spokeswoman Akemi Ando said.

Ford Motor Co. and partner Mazda Motor Corp. said they're suspending production in the eastern city of Nanjing. ``We'll try to use future weekend holidays to make up the loss,'' said Kenneth Hsu, spokesman for Ford in China.

Communication Disruption

Snow brought down phone networks, leaving 2.5 million fixed-line and 5 million cellular phone customers without service in Hunan province, according to a statement by the Ministry of Information Industry. Estimated losses were 61.8 million yuan.

About 3,963 mobile network base stations in Hunan, 18.3 percent of those installed, went down because of the weather. Of the total, 2,048 base stations were owned by China Mobile Ltd. and 1,915 by China Unicom Ltd., according to the ministry.

To contact the reporter on this story: Irene Shen in Shanghai at ishen4@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 30, 2008 08:03 EST