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Secretary for Food & Health Dr Ko Wing-man
Hong Kong shares the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's goal of strengthening food security and fighting against the volatility of food prices. Our policy objective is to maintain a stable and well-diversified food supply through an open, efficient and competitive food market and food trade, thus enabling people of Hong Kong to choose their food according to their dietary needs, food preferences and economic means.
To achieve our policy objective, we endeavour to increase food diversity while maintaining food safety, enhance market efficiency and improve market transparency.
Being an open market economy with limited primary production, over 90% of food in Hong Kong is imported from other parts of the world. Adhering to the principle of free trade in food import, foods from all over the world, as long as they are fit for human consumption and meet our local food standards, can be imported and distributed in Hong Kong according to market demand.
It is therefore imperative for us to work closely with our major food exporting economies to ensure a stable, high-quality and safe food supply in Hong Kong, which helps to promote diversity in local food choices and stabilise food prices to cater for customers from all walks of life.
Multi-pronged approach
The Hong Kong Government is committed to enhancing food safety through a multi-pronged approach. Our work includes, first, formulating effective food-safety legislation and updating food standards; secondly, devising comprehensive food surveillance strategy through incorporating the concept of "from farm to table"; thirdly, maintaining close communication with regulatory authorities of major food exporting economies and relevant international authorities; and last but not least, enhancing communication with food traders and consumers.
Our Centre for Food Safety works closely with the local trade and consumers, relevant Mainland and overseas authorities, and international organisations related to food safety. The centre makes sure that our food safety regulatory regime and standards are aligned with international practices. It also maintains close liaison with overseas authorities in collecting food safety intelligence and in handling food safety incidents.
These are all important efforts to ensure stable food supply in Hong Kong. The centre also implements a territory-wide food surveillance programme, manages food incidents and conducts risk assessment studies and risk communication with the public and the trade.
To maintain efficient, safe and environmentally acceptable primary production, the Hong Kong Government actively provides technical and infrastructural support to the industry players. The Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department conducts technical research, provides technical guidance/training and low-interest loans to primary producers, rehabilitates fallow agricultural land, introduces exotic varieties for local commercial production, and provides infrastructural facilities like wholesale food markets and communal irrigation systems.
Efficient supply chain
To ensure an efficient supply chain, the department provides and manages wholesale food markets for vegetables, fruit, poultry, freshwater fish and eggs. It also supervises the Vegetable Marketing Organisation and the Fish Marketing Organisation and assists primary producers to form marketing co-operative societies.
The organisations provide an efficient and systematic wholesaling marketing and distribution system that enables market players to compete on a level playing field by sourcing food produce both from local primary producers and around the world through various marketing channels.
To enhance market transparency in trading in food products, the Hong Kong Government closely monitors the wholesale prices and supply of essential fresh food items. Supply information and wholesale prices of major fresh food items such as pigs, cattle, poultry, fish, vegetables and eggs are updated on a daily basis.
By regularly disclosing such price information to the public, we endeavour to enhance market transparency. Such information is also shared through the Asia-Pacific Information Platform on Food Security.
Private-sector collaboration
The Government maintains close collaboration with the private sector. We are one of the members of the Policy Partnership on Food Security which was established in 2011 to strengthen public-private co-operation to achieve food security goals in the region.
The Partnership has provided invaluable advice to APEC in formulating policies in tackling food security challenges in the APEC region as a whole.
Food supply and security is no longer a localised issue as we are becoming more and more one global village. No country or place can be totally immune from food security issues happening around the globe. It is very important that we work closely together to achieve our common goal of promoting long-term food security in the Asia-Pacific region, thereby contributing to global food security.
Secretary for Food & Health Dr Ko Wing-man gave these remarks at the 3rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Ministerial Meeting on Food Security in Beijing.
