PRIMARY PRODUCTION
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majority of which are now operated by Vegetable Marketing Co- operative Societies, vegetables are collected daily by the Organiza- tion's fleet of transport to a large central wholesale market at Yau Ma Tei in Kowloon. Three sales periods are held at the wholesale market every day; these sales and all the money dealings involved are conducted by the Organization.
The Organization works in many ways like its Fish Marketing counterpart. Important differences, however, lie in the method of sale which in the case of the vegetables is by negotiation and not by auction, and in the measure of practical assistance given by the vegetable marketing co-operative societies which now handle 70% of the local production of vegetables. The reasons for negotiating sales, instead of holding auctions, are easy to see; on a normal day 18,000 separate lots may be sold to 3,000 buyers. The number of lots rises to over 27,000 a day in the main season, making sales by auction impracticable.
Local vegetable production was adversely affected by severe floods in May and the typhoon of early June. Production during the year was therefore less than expected, and sales of vegetables through the Organization fell a little short of the record quantity marketed during 1959; there was a slight increase in the average annual wholesale price. An increased quantity of imported vege- tables passed through the Organization's market at Yau Ma Tei, at approximately the same average annual wholesale price as 1959. Figures are given in an Appendix to this Chapter.
The Organization is self-supporting and the costs of the services provided are met from a 10% commission charged on sales. 30% of this commission is refunded to the marketing co-operative societies in recognition of the marketing responsibilities they as- sume in respect of their own produce. The Organization is also non-profit-making and any financial surpluses are ploughed back into the industry in the form of improved services and other benefits. One example is the aid which the Organization has given to farmers in overcoming their main problem of recent years, the lack of a cheap fertilizer, through a scheme for the maturation and distribution of nightsoil at a low price.
Cheap credit is a further important service of the Organization. Farmers may obtain loans through the Commissioner for Co-oper- ative Development and Fisheries, who is also the Registrar of