High-quality foodstuffs find favor in Hong Kong

Although they are more than 2,000 kilometers away from Shanxi, many residents in Hong Kong have the feeling that they are close neighbors to the North China province.

Produce from Shanxi, commonly seen on the dinner tables of Hong Kong families, is one of the major reasons.

Nanshan Baishishi'an Agriculture and Husbandry, based in Jiaokou county in the western Shanxi city of Lyuliang, is a supplier of live pigs and pork to Hong Kong. Executives and workers at the company consider it a top priority to offer safe, high-quality products to Hong Kong residents.

The variety of the pigs that the company breeds is called Lyuliang Mountain Pig. The pigs live in an environment featuring scenic valleys covered by dense forests and lush vegetation.

Shi Guodong, general manager of Nanshan Baishishi'an, said the pigs are "organic" because they mostly live on naturally growing feed. The use of hormones, antibiotics and clenbuterol－which increase lean meat－is forbidden. There is also a whole-process monitoring system, ensuring the animals can be traceable from birth.

"Thanks to their quality as organic food, our pigs and pork are favored by Hong Kong consumers," Shi said.

He recalled that the company first launched its products in the Hong Kong market on Sept 21, 2019. "The first batch of pork was sold out in a single day," Shi said.

Lyujian Agriculture Development, based in the central Shanxi city of Jiexiu, is another food supplier to Hong Kong. Its offering is organic eggs.

"We began to supply eggs to Hong Kong in 2014," said Feng Jiliang, the general manager. "Our sales volume in Hong Kong has increased substantially over the years, from less than 200 metric tons in the first year to more than 2,000 tons last year."

The executive said the product's popularity in Hong Kong is a result of the company's high standards in production and quality control.

"We have imported advanced equipment from Germany and the Netherlands for raising hens and environmental control," Feng said. "Every egg has an electronic ID, showing production information."

He said Hong Kong is the company's largest market. "We produced 4,500 tons of eggs last year and nearly half were sold to Hong Kong."

Feng noted that Lyujian is one of Shanxi's leading egg suppliers to Hong Kong. Official statistics show that Shanxi supplied 3,141 tons of eggs to Hong Kong in the first half of this year.

In addition to meat and eggs, vegetables and fruit are also Shanxi's staple supplies to Hong Kong.

Vegetables from the county of Xiaxian and apples from the city of Yuncheng have been popular in Hong Kong's market for the past few years.

Guo Yanjie contributed to this story.

One of the pig farms of Nanshan Baishishi'an is located in a valley with dense forests. GUO YANJIE/FOR CHINA DAILY