PRIMARY PRODUCTION
Marketing Organisations. This year, 52 per cent of the total quantity of locally-produced vegetables and 70 per cent of the total landings of marine fish were sold through the organisations.
The Vegetable Marketing Organisation operates under the Agricultural Products (Marketing) Ordinance, which also provides for the establishment of a Marketing Advisory Board to advise the Director of Marketing (the Director of Agriculture and Fisheries). It seeks to maximise returns to farmers by minimising marketing costs. The organisation is responsible for transporting locally-produced vegetables from the New Territories to the wholesale market in Kowloon, providing marketing facilities, and supervising sales and financial transactions in the market. Revenue is obtained from a 10 per cent commission on sales. The organisation is non-profit-making. Surpluses are ploughed back in the development of marketing services and the farming industries. It provides ancillary services such as the acquisition and sale of agricultural supplies to farmers and the awarding of secondary and tertiary education scholarships to their children. It also monitors and checks pesticide residue levels in both the imported and locally-produced vegetables handled by the organisation, to safeguard public health. During the year, 53 800 tonnes of local vegetables valued at $121 million were sold through the organisation.
The Fish Marketing Organisation operates under the Marine Fish (Marketing) Ordinance, which also provides for the establishment of a Fish Marketing Advisory Board. The ordinance provides for the control of the landing, transport, wholesale marketing, and import and export of marine fish. The organisation operates seven wholesale fish markets. Revenue comes from a commission on the proceeds of sales. Surplus earnings are channelled back into the industry in the form of services such as low-interest loans to fishermen, improvements to the markets, financial support for schools for fishermen's children, and scholarships for secondary and tertiary education.
In 1991, the wholesale fish markets handled 76 000 tonnes of marine fish, crustacea and molluscs which were sold for $680 million. This included 4 500 tonnes of imported marine fish sold through these markets.
The wholesale marketing of imported vegetables, fruit, poultry, eggs, freshwater fish and crustacea takes place at various Agriculture and Fisheries Department wholesale markets located in different parts of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. Facilities provided in some of these markets have already become dilapidated, congested and unable to cope with the increasing throughput.
Marketing activities have spilled onto areas adjacent to these markets, causing obstruction, traffic congestion and environmental problems. To improve the situation, a long-term programme has been devised to replace the outdated markets by establishing large modern wholesale market complexes on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon to centralise the wholesale marketing of fresh foodstuffs. In July 1991, construction work for phase I of the wholesale market complex on Hong Kong Island was completed and the fruit, freshwater fish and egg markets were subsequently relocated to the complex which became fully operational by the end of the year. Construction work for phase II which includes a poultry market and a vegetable market also started in the year and is expected to be completed by March 1994. Steady progress was also made in the planning of the Kowloon complex which is to be built on the new West Kowloon Reclamation. The complex would also be constructed in two phases with completion dates for phases I and II in early 1994 and 1996 respectively. Pending the eventual completion of the complexes, the
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