As Chinese New Year approaches, Li Xingqian, director general of the Department of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Commerce, organised a delegation from the Mainland for ensuring the stable supply and safety of agricultural products to Macao to visit the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) on February 1 and the delegation had a meeting with José Tavares and O Lam, Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Administration Committee on Municipal Affairs. The delegation also visited the New Wholesale Market of Macao and Patane Market to learn about the condition of the supply of agricultural products to Macao from the Mainland on site, so as to ensure the stable supply, quality and safety of agricultural products to Macao during the Chinese New Year period. The members of the task force included representatives from the Ministry of Commerce, General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China and Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province.
Director General Li Xingqian stated that the Central Government has always attached high importance to the supply of agricultural products to Macao and cared about the Macao public. The relevant departments and various provinces and cities have worked closely together to fully implement the policies of the Central Government. They have always attached importance to effectively ensuring the safe and stable supply to Macao and the consumption needs of the Macao public. Under the guidance of the relevant departments in the Central Government and the regional leadership, a number of high-standard food manufacturing and processing bases have been established to ensure that the food consumed by the Macao public is safe. Since 2023, enterprises supplying agricultural products to Macao have fully fulfilled their supply of agricultural products to Macao. They have supplied an accumulative total of 417,000 tons of agricultural products to Macao, showing a 14.4% year-on-year increase. The supply of live pigs, live cows, chilled chicken, vegetables, fruit, eggs and other agricultural products are all on the rise.
During their visit to Macao, director general Li Xingqian and the delegation visited the New Wholesale Market of Macao and Patane Market to learn about the management and operation of the markets. They also had a meeting with José Tavares and O Lam, Chairman and Vice-Chairman of Administration Committee on Municipal Affairs of IAM, to learn about the demand of live and fresh produce and the situation of ensuring the supply to the Macao market, so as to further ensure the stable supply of these products to Macao.
As Chinese New Year approaches, the Ministry of Commerce has taken measures to ensure food supply, including strengthening the organisation and sources of product supply, ensuring the quality and safety of products and optimising contingency plans and the handling of emergencies. The Ministry has also taken various measures, such as solidifying the safety defence, establishing the responsibilities of entities, fostering close cooperation between departments and strengthening the sense of service, to fully accomplish the arrangements to ensure supply to Macao, in the endeavour to ensure the stable supply, quality and safety of agricultural products supplied to Macao during the Chinese New Year period.
IAM thanked the Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs for their great support, as they have always provided high-quality fresh and live produce to Macao and carried out stringent inspections on food supplied to Macao. As the types of food kept increasing and there have been ample supply sources, IAM will continue to maintain close communication and cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs, so as to jointly ensure the stable supply of fresh and live produce to Macao.
