ENG-1946 — Page 52

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market; in December, 1946, for example, this new market sold a weight of fresh fish almost exactly two-thirds of that sold in the larger market. During 1946 the fresh fish landed scarcely met the needs of the local population and the retail price was high; but of the salt fish sold in the market at least 60% was exported, monthly exports being valued at more than HK$1,000,000. Of this about four-fifths went to China, the rest being very widely distributed to North and South America, Honolulu, Macao, Malaya and Australia.

AGRICULTURE.

The position of agriculture in Hong Kong has changed considerably as a result of the war. Before the war about a tenth of the population lived on the land. The main products were rice, vegetables and fruit: The amount of rice which the Colony could produce was negligible from the point of view of the needs of the population, for it could not supply them for a fortnight. The rice, however, was of a particu- larly good quality and was largely exported to the United States, while Hong Kong's main needs were met by the import of rice of average quality produced in Indo-China and Siam. In vegetables the Colony produced about one-fifth of its needs; its fruit production was slight. The farmers maintained a fair quantity of livestock, mainly pigs and ploughing cattle, but even in pork, the meat most consumed by the Chinese, they produced only a very small proportion of the people's needs. The dairy industry was only in the early stages of development. The rearing of poultry was for the most part unscientific and, though considerable numbers of chickens and ducks were raised, the needs of the population had largely to be satisfied from the Chinese mainland. Just before the war it was beginning to be realised that the natural resources of Hong Kong could be developed and that, though the total area of the Colony was only 391 square miles, there was a need for a Department of Agriculture. Plans were made in 1941 for its establishment but the war came before they were realised.

Effects of the War.

During the war, when the Colony was under Japanese occupation for over three and a half years, the progress of agriculture and of animal farming suffered a severe set-back. The population was, by the usual Japanese methods, greatly reduced. There was inadequate manpower for tillage and there was an almost complete lack of fertilizer. As there was a great shortage of rice in the Colony, the farmers devoted every available piece of land to it and for the first time made a serious effort at dry rice cultivation on the higher slopes of the hills. The production of vegetables fell off considerably. Owing to the frequent raids upon their livestock the farmers ceased to raise either animals or poultry, with the result that