ENG-1984 — Page 154

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PRIMARY PRODUCTION

nurseries. Peach blossom and ornamental citrus are grown especially for the Lunar New Year. The area of land under vegetables and flowers increased from 910 hectares in 1954 to 4 790 hectares in 1976 but has since declined gradually to 2 760 hectares in 1984, mainly as a result of new town development.

The amount of land used to cultivate rice has dropped from 9 450 hectares in 1954 to less than 10 hectares in 1984. Rice production has given way to intensive vegetable production, which gives a far higher return. Much former paddy land around the more remote villages has fallen into disuse and now lies fallow.

Various types of fruit are grown in Hong Kong. The principal crops are longan, lychees, wampei, tangerines, local lemons, bananas and guavas. Land under orchards in 1954 totalled 390 hectares; by 1984 it was 600 hectares.

Other field crops such as sweet potatoes, taro, yams and sugar cane are cultivated on a small scale in the remote and drier areas where water and transport facilities are inadequate for growing vegetables. Some 60 hectares were under rain-fed crops in 1984 compared with 1 410 hectares in 1954.

Because 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. The value of locally produced pigs killed in 1984 amounted to $364 million.

The production value of poultry, including chickens, ducks, pigeons and quails, amounted to $631 million in 1984. Local chicken production, still suffering from the after-effects of the chicken hormone problem in 1983, decreased by 8 per cent to about 14 million birds, representing 60 per cent of total consumption.

Friesian cattle are kept by dairies, most of which are in the New Territories. Sporadic outbreaks of a mild type of foot-and-mouth disease (Type O) and swine fever still occur, but they are kept under control by vaccination. Newcastle Disease in poultry is controlled by the use of Ranikhet and intranasal-drop vaccines. Investigations to establish the incidence of intercurrent disease in both pigs and poultry are carried out at the government's veterinary laboratory.

Stringent rabies control measures remained in force throughout the year. These include extensive immunisation of dogs and cats against rabies, intensive catching and elimination of stray dogs, and restriction of canine movement into and out of the gazetted rabies- infected area. By the end of the year, 14 000 dogs had been humanely destroyed and another 35 000 licensed and inoculated against rabies.

As a standard practice, all imported dogs and cats, other than those from Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, are subject to six months' quarantine. Any dog that bites a person is required to be detained for observation in government kennels for a period of seven days. All cattle and pigs imported for food are quarantined on arrival in Hong Kong. Importation for breeding purposes is also subject to strict control.

Fishing Industry

Marine fish constitute one of Hong Kong's most important primary products. More than 150 fish species of commercial importance frequent the waters of the adjacent continental shelf. Most important of these in terms of landed weight are golden thread, scads, lizardfishes, big-eyes, croakers and squids.

Total estimated production from the two major sectors - marine capture and culture fisheries - amounted to 200 000 tonnes with a wholesale value of $1,750 million in 1984. These figures represent an increase of six per cent in weight and nine per cent in value compared with 1983. Of the total production, 96 per cent in weight came from marine