ENG-1947 — Page 62

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· PRODUCTION •

Chapter 6.

The main primary product of Hong Kong is fish. Agricul- ture is limited by reason of the rugged and mountainous terrain, and mineral resources are believed not to be great. Local industry includes ship-building, ship repairing, engineering and a wide range of light industries, the main products of which are textiles, rubber goods, buttons, leather goods, cigarettes, matches, preserved ginger and confectionery, tinned goods glassware and paint. The majority of Hong Kong's working population is engaged in occupations connected with commerce rather than production but enterprise and capital are not lacking, when an economic demand arises which can be satisfied by the expansion of local industry. The cost of all Hong Kong's products, both primary and industrial, has risen considerably as a result of the high post-war cost of living; the effect of this development cannot yet be assessed.

FISHERIES.

No Fisheries Department existed before the Japanese war. The fishing industry was under the control of groups of whole- sale dealers called "laans" and most of the profits from the industry found their way into the pockets of these men and their subordinates. The fisherman is at any time and in any place greatly dependent upon the season; in a good season he may be prosperous, in a bad one, destitute. It was to a large extent on this uncertainty and on the weaknesses of the local fisherfolk that the laans' control of the industry was based. During a good season money was earned only to be gambled away or spent freely; and when the hard times which were inevitable followed, the fisherman would find himself in need of funds. These the middle-man would be prepared to provide. in the form of a loan-an unusual type of loan in as much as an agreement was seldom signed

was seldom signed and interest was rarely charged, the only condition being that the fisherman's entire catch would be handed over to the middleman for marketing. Few of these loans were repaid, for it was to the middleman's advantage to retain his control over the fisherman's catch, out of which he could make a handsome profit for himself. As for the fisherman, although his standard of life was low, he could usually depend for an increase of the loan from the middleman.

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