ENG-1975 — Page 81

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PRIMARY PRODUCTION

and poinsettia—are produced in commercial nurseries. Peach blossom and ornamental citrus are grown especially for the Lunar New Year. The area of land under vegetables and flowers has increased from 2,250 acres in 1954 to 12,290 in 1975.

Various types of fruit are grown on the lower hill slopes. The principal crops are longan, lychee, wampei, tangerine, local lemon, banana, guava and pineapple. Land under orchards in 1954 was 952 acres. By 1975 it was 1,600 acres.

Other field crops such as sweet potato, taro, yam and sugarcane are cultivated in the remote and drier areas where water and transport facilities are inadequate for growing vegetables or rice. Some 930 acres were under rainfed crops in 1975, com- pared with 3,450 acres in 1954.

As there is insufficient land for extensive grazing, pigs and poultry are the principal animals reared for food. Pigs in Hong Kong are mostly crosses of local animals with exotic stock, and pure strains of the Chinese type are becoming difficult to find. Although locally produced pigs represented only 12 per cent of total pigs killed in 1975, their value was $74 million.

With an annual production value of $160 million, the poultry industry-including ducks, pigeons and quail-is continuing to develop on a more sophisticated basis. Farmers are adopting advanced methods of management and successfully adapting them to local conditions, taking the process through from locally bred chicks to table birds with both local breeds and imported hybrids.

While local cattle and buffaloes are used mainly for work, imported Friesians are kept by dairies-of which the largest is on Hong Kong Island and the others in the New Territories. Regular tuberculin testing is carried out on all dairy animals.

Sporadic outbreaks of a mild type of foot-and-mouth disease (type O) and swine fever still occur, but these have been kept under control by vaccination. Newcastle disease in poultry has been controlled by the use of the Ranikhet and intranasal-drop vaccines. Although rinderpest was eradicated in 1950, vaccination continues using a tissue culture vaccine providing a prolonged immunity as safeguard against the re- introduction of the disease. Investigations to establish the incidence of intercurrent disease in both pigs and poultry are undertaken at the government's veterinary laboratory.

Legislation requires all imported dogs and cats to be quarantined for six months, except those from scheduled countries (Britain, Australia and New Zealand), to prevent the introduction of rabies which was eradicated in 1955. Stray dogs are caught and detained for observation and, if unclaimed, are destroyed under the rabies control policy.

All cattle and pigs imported for food are also quarantined on arrival in Hong Kong, and any imported for breeding purposes are subject to strict health certification and isolation procedures.

Fishing Industry

Marine fish form one of Hong Kong's most important primary products. More than 150 fish species of commercial importance are present in the areas fished by the