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Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, at a media session at the lobby of West Wing, Central Government Offices today (January 6):
Reporter: (on Ta Kwu Ling Checkpoint)
Secretary for Food and Health: I hope Hong Kong people would understand that the whole purpose of spending public resources to establish a checkpoint at Ta Kwu Ling is to allow local farms to channel through this checkpoint their live poultry to the retail outlets during the period when Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market has to cease operation. This is a mechanism essentially to protect the continued supply of local live poultry as well as the interest of the trade. Therefore, I think it is very important to ascertain the intention of the trade. Of course, we also understand that there will be diversified interest among different stakeholders in the local poultry trade.
Reporter: (on whether the idea of local farms bypassing the wholesalers to supply live chickens to the retail outlets is workable)
Secretary for Food and Health: It is in theory workable. Some local farmers have already expressed interest to have this particular arrangement, that is, without channeling their live poultry to the retail outlets through the wholesalers. However, we need to be very conscious after the incident today. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department would have to ascertain the true intention of the trade, in particular the farmers, before we would endeavor to make further arrangements because these are not simple arrangements. We have to explain further to the Ta Kwu Ling villagers about certain misunderstandings.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Issued at HKT 21:06
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