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Fresh food produce is
sold in wholesale markets managed by the
AFCD, the Vegetable Marketing Organisation
and the Fish Marketing Organisation. During
the year, the Government's wholesale markets
handled 287 000 tonnes of vegetables,
41 000 tonnes of poultry, 25 000
tonnes of freshwater fish and fisheries
products, 107 000 tonnes of fruit
and 53 000 tonnes of eggs valued
at a total $3.9 billion.
The Western Wholesale
Food Market and the Cheung Sha Wan Wholesale
Food Market are the two biggest market
complexes developed and managed by the
department. Each is an integration of
several markets. The Western Wholesale
Food Market, for example, accommodates
markets for freshwater fish, vegetables,
fruit, poultry and eggs and allows buyers
to purchase a variety of fresh food produce
under one roof.
Apart from these market
complexes, the AFCD also manages two temporary
wholesale markets, one in North District
for fresh vegetables and the other in
Cheung Sha Wan for live poultry.
The Vegetable Marketing
Organisation is a non-governmental body
providing vegetable wholesale marketing
facilities. It operates a vegetable wholesale
market at Cheung Sha Wan, set up under
the Agricultural Products (Marketing)
Ordinance on a non-profit-making basis.
It charges commission on the vegetables
sold and in return provides trading facilities,
transport, accounting, and pesticides
residue testing services to farmers and
traders. Any surplus is ploughed back
into the development of farming and the
provision of scholarships for farmers'
children. In 2005, the organisation handled
214 000 tonnes of vegetables valued
at $845 million.
The Fish Marketing Organisation
is a statutory body established under
the Marine Fish (Marketing) Ordinance.
It provides orderly marketing services
at its seven wholesale markets. Revenue
comes from charging commission on the
proceeds of sales and fees for using the
market facilities. Surplus earnings are
channelled back into the industry through
the provision of low-interest loans to
fishermen, improved services and facilities
in the markets and scholarships for fishermen
and their children. During the year, 54 000
tonnes of marine fish valued at $1,500
million were sold through the organisation.
In the interest of protecting public health,
the Fish Marketing Organisation continued
to strengthen the management of the live
marine fish wholesale activities in its
markets to ensure that they were run in
an orderly and hygienic manner. To help
promote local fisheries products, the
organisation set up a fish processing
centre in 2005 to develop quality fisheries
products and establish a local brand name
for marketing these products. |