ENG-1996 — Page 177

9 PRIMARY PRODUCTION

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AGRICULTURE is a comparatively small sector in Hong Kong. Farming is largely undertaken on the urban fringes and only about 3.1 per cent of the land area is under cultivation. In 1996, local production accounted for 17 per cent of vegetables, 22 per cent of live poultry, 8 per cent of live pigs, 11 per cent of freshwater fish and 71 per cent of all live and fresh marine fish consumed.

Each day, Hong Kong people consume about 900 tonnes of rice, 1 420 tonnes of vegetables, 7 110 pigs, 300 head of cattle, 260 tonnes of poultry, 460 tonnes of fish and 1680 tonnes of fruit. About 45 per cent of Hong Kong's food requirements is imported from China.

The Hong Kong Government does not give direct subsidies to the local agricultural industry or attempt to protect it from the free operation of market forces. It does, however, provide a variety of infrastructural and technical support services to facilitate local agricultural development.

Being responsible for the implementation of government policies on agriculture and fisheries, the Agriculture and Fisheries Department provides infrastructural support services including wholesale marketing facilities, irrigation and drainage works, technical and development advice, administration of agricultural and fisheries loan funds, and development programmes such as the accredited farm scheme, the agricultural land rehabilitation scheme, and the moist pellet feed scheme for mariculture. Local production statistics are given at Appendix 25.

The Agricultural Industry

Local agriculture is directed towards the production of high quality fresh food through intensive land use. This has resulted in the change from traditional rice farming to small but intensive crop and livestock farming over the past decades. The most common crops cultivated are leafy vegetables and high-value cut flowers. Production was valued at about $475 million.

Pigs and poultry are the principal animals reared for food. Livestock production has declined in recent years due to the implementation of a livestock waste control scheme. The trend is towards fewer but bigger farms. The value of locally-produced pigs in 1996 amounted to $394 million and that of poultry, including chickens, ducks, pigeons and quails, amounted to $392 million.

Agricultural Development

Strong competition from imports, land and labour constraints, and progressive implementation of environmental pollution controls, have forced the agricultural

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