ENG-1958 — Page 112

PRIMARY PRODUCTION AND MARKETING

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Six to eight crops of Chinese vegetables can be harvested annually. During 1958, 1,387,797 piculs of vegetables were sold through the Vegetable Marketing Organization at a value of $26,562,534. The main varieties are white cabbage, flowering cab- bage, turnips, leaf mustard cabbage, Chinese kale, Chinese lettuce, tomatoes, water spinach, string beans and watercress. During the cool months cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce and tomatoes are produced in quantity and are of excellent quality. Further details concerning vegetable production are given below under Marketing. Sweet Potatoes. Two crops of tubers on approximately 2,560 acres are harvested annually and the average yield per annum is about 14 tons per acre. On an average market price of $15 per picul the annual value of the crop is approximately $9,200,000. An additional area of 5,700 acres of paddy fallow following the harvest of the second rice crop is planted up to short-term sweet potatoes, the vines of which are used for pig feeding.

Other Field Crops. About 850 acres are cultivated in numerous small areas for field crops such as peanuts, taro, radish, yams and sugar-cane. These crops are grown mainly for home consumption in the New Territories.

Fruit. The local production of fruit is small at present but is expanding with the successful establishment of village orchards. The main varieties produced are wong pei, local lemon, tangerine, Japanese apricot, guava, papaya, laichee, pineapple and orange. Accurate statistics are not available, but it is estimated that 38,647 piculs of assorted fruits were harvested during the year, valued at about $2,131,305 for export and local consumption.

Crops and Fruits for Export. A limited range of fruits and crops are processed for export to Chinese citizens living overseas. The main market is the United States of America. Although the quantities exported are small, they provide an additional source of earning for the small farmer. These products include water- chestnut, Japanese apricot, local lemon, taro, bitter cucumber, white cabbage, ginger and radish. It is estimated that the area planted to these crops in 1958 was 2,520 dau chung and that the value of exports was in excess of $2,736,712.

New Crops. The recent interest shown in the revival of tea cultivation is continuing and an experimental area on Grassy Hill