ENG-1988 — Page 136

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The government's policy is to enhance the productivity of the local agricultural industry, through increased technical and economic efficiency, improved stability of production and maintenance of orderly and efficient marketing. It also seeks to protect the consumer from unnecessarily high food prices by ensuring that local produce of acceptable standards is marketed efficiently and to maintain a reliable source of fresh primary products to the community.

Common crops are vegetables, flowers, fruit and other field crops. The value of crop production increased from $93 million in 1963 to $417 million in 1988. Vegetable production accounts for more than 79 per cent of the total value having increased from $64 million in 1963 to $332 million in 1988.

The main vegetable crops are white cabbage, flowering cabbage, lettuce, kale, radish, watercress, leaf mustard, spring onion and chives. They grow throughout the year, with peak production in the cooler months. Water spinach, string beans, Chinese spinach, green cucumber and many species of Chinese gourd are produced in summer. A wide range of exotic temperate vegetables including tomato, sweet pepper, cabbage, celery, head lettuce, cauliflower and carrot is grown in winter. Straw mushroom is also produced, using industrial cotton waste as the growing medium.

Among the common types of flowers, gladioli and chrysanthemums grow throughout the year, while dahlias, roses, asters, snapdragons and carnations are produced in winter, and ginger lilies and lotus flowers in summer. A wide range of ornamental plants - including philodendrons, dieffenbachia, bamboo palms and poinsettia – is produced in commercial nurseries. Peach blossom and ornamental citrus are grown specially 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 declined gradually to 2 400 hectares in 1988, mainly as a result of new town development.

The amount of land used to cultivate rice dropped from 9 450 hectares in 1954 to less than one hectare in 1988. 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, but by 1988 it was 540 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 50 hectares were under rain-fed crops in 1988 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 1988 amounted to $406 million. However, the production of local pigs is expected to decline in the long run as a result of the implementation of the Animal Waste Control Scheme by the government.

The production value of poultry, including chickens, ducks, pigeons and quails, amounted to $619 million. Local chicken production was about 16 million birds, represent- ing 42 per cent of total consumption.

Friesian cattle are kept by dairies, all 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 are kept under control by vaccination. Newcastle Disease in poultry is controlled by the use of Ranikhet and intranasal-drop vaccines. Investigations to establish