Meat, fruits and vegetables from the mainland replenished Hong Kong and Macao's food supplies during the Spring Festival, Xinhua News Agency reported.
According to the report, because snow ahead of the Spring Festival may have jeopardized the mainland's food supply to Hong Kong and Macao, the central government adopted an emergency mechanism to ensure agricultural products made it to the two special administrative regions.
On the first day of the festival, workers at the Zhongshan port in Guangdong province were busy at loading cargos transporting fish to Hong Kong.
About 80 tons of fish is transported to Hong Kong and Macao everyday, taking 40 percent and 70 percent of the market share respectively, the report said, citing He Hanbiao, an official of the Entry-Exit Inspection And Quarantine at Zhongshan port.
"If the Zhongshan port doesn't provide fish for one day, the restaurants in Hong Kong and Macao would suffer fish shortages," He said.
In the neighboring Guangxi province, about 200 tons of fresh vegetables are trucked to Hong Kong and Macao each day from an agricultural base in Hezhou city.
The report said that 70 percent of the vegetables in Hezhou would be provided to Hong Kong and Macao markets every year.
In addition, mainland's food quality watchdogs were constantly monitoring food qualities exported to the two cities, the report said.
Before pork from Henan and Hunan provinces reach Hong Kong and Macao, painstaking examinations are taken by different government departments, it said.
Data from Hunan's Changsha customs showed that a total of 1,992 tons of pork, 563.3 tons of chicken and 216.1 tons of goat meat were exported to Hong Kong and Macao in December 2010.
