Press Releases

Government concerned about live cattle supply

In response to media enquiries, a spokesman for the Food and Health Bureau said today (August 16) that the bureau was very concerned about the current shortage of live cattle supply and fully understood the worries of beef traders.

"We called on the traders not to take drastic action and to co-operate with the agent to tackle the issue in a calm and sensible manner. At our request, the agent will convene a meeting with trade representatives this evening to sort things out.

"We have been liaising closely with the Ministry of Commerce and the agent on live cattle supply. The agent had been working very hard to narrow the price gap and to assure adequate supply of live cattle to Hong Kong.

"We understand that the purchasing price of cattle on the Mainland has increased by more than 40% since early this year. The price there remains high and cattle supply is tight. There are pressures for further price increases. Our primary objective is to ensure a stable supply of cattle to Hong Kong and to this end, we call on the agent to do its utmost to source more cattle for Hong Kong.

"If beef retailers have operation difficulties due to a tight cattle supply, they may approach the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department for temporary relief measures and assistance", a bureau spokesman said.




Ends/Thursday, August 16, 2007
Issued at HKT 16:06

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