SEE meets Mainland delegation on ensuring food supply to Hong Kong (with photo)
30.1.2024

The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, today (January 30) met with a Mainland delegation to exchange views on the supply and safety of food to Hong Kong. The delegation, led by the Director of the Department of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, Mr Li Xingqian, was tasked to ensure stable supply and safety of agricultural products to Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year. Members of the delegation include representatives from the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China and the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province. Mr Tse said that, Mainland China is the major source of agricultural products, especially live and fresh food, for Hong Kong. He thanked the delegation for visiting Hong Kong before the Chinese New Year to look at the latest situation of the supply of food from the Mainland to Hong Kong, so as to ensure people in Hong Kong have sufficient supply of high quality and diversified food. This morning, the delegation had a meeting with the officials from the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), including the Permanent Secretary for Environment and Ecology (Food), Miss Vivian Lau, and relevant officials from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD). In the meeting, both sides discussed and noted that, with the approach of the Chinese New Year, the Ministry of Commerce has required all relevant Mainland agencies to ensure the stable supply of quality and safe agricultural products to Hong Kong during the festive season with five measures, namely, attaching importance on the stable supply of food, strengthening the sources of supply, enhancing the contingency plans, solidifying the safety defence and strengthening the sense of service. Both sides agreed that relevant departments of the two places should continue to maintain close contact and communication with a view to ensuring safety and steady supply of food products to Hong Kong from the Mainland. The delegation visited Wan Chai Market today and exchanged views with the stall representatives to learn about issues such as volume and price level of food supplied from the Mainland to Hong Kong. They also visited the Western Wholesale Food Market and were briefed by AFCD officers on the operations of the wholesale market. Relevant agencies in the Mainland have all along attached great importance to the quality, safety and stability of food supplied to Hong Kong, and established a closely-connected liaison mechanism with Hong Kong. During the COVID-19 epidemic, the Central People's Government provided continuous support to Hong Kong in terms of manpower resources and food supply. Under the leadership and support of the anti-epidemic task force of the Mainland, active co-ordination between HKSAR Government and the Mainland authorities had stabilised the supply of goods to Hong Kong, including live pigs, live cattle, vegetables, fruits and other daily food and necessities.