Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ5: Public markets
Following is a question by the Hon Leung Yiu-chung and a written reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today
(April 9):
Question:
Some stall tenants in the public markets under the Food and Environmental
Hygiene Department have relayed to me that some public markets are poorly
ventilated and their vacancy rates are on the high side, resulting in low
patronage, which makes it difficult for them to do business there. In this
connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the overall vacancy rate of public markets in each of the past five
years; whether it has conducted a study on the vacancy situation and the causes
for it; if it has, of the outcome of the study and whether it has formulated
measures to reduce the vacancy rate; if it has, of the details; if it has not
formulated any measure, the reasons for that;
(2) whether it has found that some stalls in public markets are used only for
storage rather than sale of goods; if it has, of the details and whether it has
studied the impacts of this situation on the patronage of the markets; if it has
not studied, of the reasons for that;
(3) given that upon installation of air-conditioning (A/C) systems in public
markets, stall tenants will have to share recurrent expenses such as extra
electricity charges, repair and maintenance costs of the A/C systems, whether it
will study the provision of subsidies to stall tenants to encourage them to
agree to the installation of A/C systems so as to improve the patronage of the
markets; if it will provide subsidies, of the form of subsidies and the
implementation timetable; if it will not provide subsidies, the reasons for
that; and
(4) whether it will step up the promotion of public markets to increase its
patronage and reduce the rents of stalls to alleviate stall tenants' business
difficulties; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
In December 2013, the Government commissioned a consultant to develop proposals
for improving the operating environment of public markets to enable them to
fulfil their functions befitting their positioning. If the study progresses
smoothly, the consultant is expected to submit the preliminary study findings in
mid-2014.
My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(1) At present, there are 76 public markets selling mainly fresh provisions and
other dry and wet goods, as well as 25 free-standing cooked food markets under
the management of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD),
providing a total of some 14 440 stalls. The overall vacancy rate of public
markets in each of the past five years is set out in Annex.
The occupancy of public markets is influenced by many factors, such as
competition from retail outlets selling similar commodities in the vicinity and
demographic changes in the district. In order to better utilise stalls that have
been left vacant for a long time because of their poor locations, FEHD has since
February 2009 lowered the upset auction prices to 80% and 60% of the open market
rental for stalls which have been left vacant for six months and eight months
respectively, for the purpose of enhancing their attractiveness. As at February
2014, a total of 2 452 stalls were let out through this arrangement. In
addition, starting from July 2009, FEHD has gradually introduced service trades,
light refreshment and bakery stalls with a view to diversifying the services
provided in public markets. Under this scheme, a total of 114 stalls have been
let out for service trades, light refreshment and bakery stalls so far. Since
October 2010, FEHD has also let out small stalls through short-term tenancy on a
trial basis to allow more flexibility for prospective tenants so as to increase
the occupancy rate of public markets.
(2) Some tenants in public markets need extra space for storage due to the small
size of their stalls. FEHD will lease long-standing vacant stalls and stalls in
poor locations to existing tenants in the same market for storage purposes, as a
means to forestall the practice of storing goods in passageways or on the top of
the stalls. For stall operators who use their stalls only for storage rather
than business purposes as required under the terms of tenancy, FEHD will take
appropriate actions against them for breaches of tenancy agreements. Since 2013,
16 stall operators had their tenancy terminated due to breaches of tenancy terms
whilst 15 terminated the tenancy agreements on their own initiative during the
course of investigation.
(3) Under the current practice, whilst the Government is responsible for the
costs of installing the air-conditioning system and its subsequent large-scale
or system maintenance, the electricity charges and daily maintenance costs are
borne by stall tenants pro rata to the floor area of their respective stalls. In
keeping with the user-pays principle, we consider that this arrangement should
remain unchanged.
(4) To boost customer flows in public markets, FEHD will continue to organise
promotional activities, including thematic exhibitions, workshops and festive
celebrations, display recipes in various languages, as well as publish booklets
and the quarterly "Market Newsletter" to provide updated market information.
There has been no adjustment to the rentals of public market stalls since 1998.
The rental freeze period has been extended several times to December 31, 2015.
We consider that there is no room for further reduction in rentals.
Ends/Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Issued at HKT 15:18
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LCQ5 Annex