Press Releases

SFH on food supply to Hong Kong

Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, at a stand-up media session in Guangzhou after attending a working session on food supply to Hong Kong today (February 2):

Reporter: (asking too much while Mainland is experiencing food shortage right now)

Secretary for Food and Health: Of course, we are grateful for what the Central People's Government and also the provincial governments are helping in Hong Kong. We realise that during this time of hardship, some areas might not get sufficient food. I was reassured by the minister (Deputy Minister of Commerce, Mr Gao Hucheng) that the overall food production in China is adequate. In fact, in Guangdong, in the last four years, they had very good harvest. Generally, the storage of food on the Mainland is quite adequate.

Reporter: Do you agree with Gao Hucheng's suggestion that Hong Kong people should make some changes in eating habit?

Secretary for Food and Health: Hong Kong, being an international city, is relying its food supply from all over the world, including the Mainland. We should be more flexible and adaptive to any changes in the market. We also realise that apart from a few items, supply often comes from more than one area. If we say a certain food is in shortage from a certain production area, we can switch over to the others. I think there are some habits of Hong Kong people that, we feel that, if possible, we should still secure a constant supply. It is more important to let the population know that what is happening in the world and what is happening in the supplying country, so that we can give them information as soon as possible so that they can make a change.

(Please also refer to the Chinese session of the transcript)


Ends/Saturday, February 2, 2008
Issued at HKT 15:56

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