Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ15: Live pig agent
Following is a question by the Hon Fred Li and a written reply by the Secretary
for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (June 25):
Question:
It has been reported that when the Hong Kong Agriculture Special Area
Corporation (the Corporation), formed by pig farmers in Hong Kong, was appointed
as the third agent for live pig supply to Hong Kong by the Ministry of Commerce
(MoC) last October, it had undertaken to set up pig farms on the Mainland to
raise pigs for supply to Hong Kong. However, to date, the Corporation has yet to
honour its undertaking and has only adopted the same practice as that of the
other two agents i.e. acquiring pigs from farms for supply to Hong Kong. In this
connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(a) it has approached MoC to ascertain how the latter will deal with the
Corporation's failure to supply live pigs raised at its own farms to Hong Kong
as undertaken so far;
(b) it knows the reasons why the Corporation has not yet supplied live pigs
raised at its own farms to Hong Kong;
(c) it has provided assistance to the Corporation in setting up pig farms on the
Mainland; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(d) it has studied whether that the wholesale price of pigs supplied to Hong
Kong has not dropped since the introduction of the third live pig agent is
attributable to the Corporation's failure to supply to Hong Kong live pigs
raised at its own farms; if the study result is in the affirmative, of the
solutions in place; if the study result is in the negative, the justifications
for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) In July last year, the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) and the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region Government agreed to open up the market for supply of live
pigs to Hong Kong. Guangnan Hong Company Limited was appointed as the second
live pig agent in addition to the existing one, i.e. Ng Fung Hong Limited. It
was also agreed in principle that a third agent be appointed. The objective of
opening up the market was to increase the number of live pig agents, so as to
provide additional channels through which live pigs could be supplied to Hong
Kong. Whether the newly appointed agent would set up pig farms in the Mainland
has no relation with the opening up of the market.
In fact, when the China Chamber of Commerce for Import/Export of Foodstuffs,
Native Produce and Animal By-products gave notice to invite application for
appointment as the third agent to import live pigs to Hong Kong in last August,
the setting up of pig farms in the Mainland by the relevant agent was not
included in the specified application requirements.
In October last year, on the recommendation of the China Chamber of Commerce of
Import/Export of Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal By-Products, the MoC
decided to appoint the Hong Kong Agriculture Special Zone Limited (ASZ) as an
agent to import live pigs to Hong Kong .
(b) Prior to being appointed as the third live pig agent, ASZ has already set up
pig farms in Shaoguan of Guangdong Province. These pig farms have started to
produce live pigs.
According to our understanding, the production scale of these pig farms is being
expanded to meet the eligibility criteria for being registered farms for the
supply of live pig to Hong Kong (annual production capacity be over 10 000
heads). Whether ASZ will export the live pigs raised in its Mainland pig farms
to Hong Kong in future is simply a commercial decision.
(c) In September last year, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation
Department (AFCD) arranged an exchange session between the Guangdong Entry-Exit
Inspection and Quarantine Bureau of the State General Administration of Quality
Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and Hong Kong pig farmers. During the
session, the farmers were briefed on the requirements that must be met for
setting up pig farms in the Mainland, including those for food safety,
production scale, bio-security and environmental requirements. In April this
year, AFCD officers also joined the trade in a visit to the Mainland to learn
more about the progress on the setting up of pig farms in the Mainland by ASZ,
and to exchange views with local municipal officials on setting up pig farms in
the Mainland by Hong Kong pig farmers.
(d) The supply of live pig remained stable recently. In May, the number of live
pigs supplied to the market was around 4 200 a day and the average auction price
was about $1,400 per 100 catty. The live pigs are imported from the registered
farms for supplying live pigs to Hong Kong located in different Mainland
provinces. The price of live pigs is affected by factors such as supply and
demand, production costs, the wholesale price of live pigs in the Mainland and
transportation costs. It is not necessarily related to whether agents have set
up pig farms in the Mainland.
Ends/Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Issued at HKT 15:53
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