ENG-2005 — Page 238

196 | Food Safety, Environmental Hygiene, Agriculture and Fisheries

The Western Wholesale Food Market and the Cheung Sha Wan Wholesale Food Market are the two biggest market complexes developed and managed by the department. Each is an integration of several markets. The Western Wholesale Food Market, for example, accommodates markets for freshwater fish, vegetables, fruit, poultry and eggs and allows buyers to purchase a variety of fresh food produce under one roof.

Apart from these market complexes, the AFCD also manages two temporary wholesale markets, one in North District for fresh vegetables and the other in Cheung Sha Wan for live poultry.

The Vegetable Marketing Organisation is a non-governmental body providing vegetable wholesale marketing facilities. It operates a vegetable wholesale market at Cheung Sha Wan, set up under the Agricultural Products (Marketing) Ordinance on a non-profit-making basis. It charges commission on the vegetables sold and in return. provides trading facilities, transport, accounting, and pesticides residue testing services to farmers and traders. Any surplus is ploughed back into the development of farming and the provision of scholarships for farmers' children. In 2005, the organisation handled 214 000 tonnes of vegetables valued at $845 million.

The Fish Marketing Organisation is a statutory body established under the Marine Fish (Marketing) Ordinance. It provides orderly marketing services at its seven wholesale markets. Revenue comes from charging commission on the proceeds of sales and fees for using the market facilities. Surplus earnings are channelled back into the industry through the provision of low-interest loans to fishermen, improved services and facilities in the markets and scholarships for fishermen and their children. During the year, 54 000 tonnes of marine fish valued at $1,500 million were sold through the organisation. In the interest of protecting public health, the Fish Marketing Organisation continued to strengthen the management of the live marine fish wholesale activities in its markets to ensure that they were run in an orderly and hygienic manner. To help promote local fisheries products, the organisation set up a fish processing centre in 2005 to develop quality fisheries products and establish a local brand name for marketing these products.

Veterinary Services and Animal Management

The European Union has recognised Hong Kong's freedom from rabies in 2004 by including Hong Kong in the list of third countries from which the non-commercial movement of pet animals to the European Union is permitted on the basis of health certification. This resulted in a significant increase in the movement of pet animals to the European Union. The number of cats and dogs exported to the European Union in 2005 increased by 29.8 per cent over the previous year.

In 2005, the AFCD introduced a requirement that all imported dogs and cats have to be identified by a microchip. This allows the accompanying health certification with the microchip number to be matched to the individual animal.