Agricultural suppliers see Hong Kong as door to big business

For Wen Xiaoyan, shipping live fish to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region not only confirms the product quality but could lead to further business opportunities.

Wen is the director of Santai Eco Fishery Ltd, based in Dongguan, Guangdong province. The company supplies 1 metric ton a day of jade perch, a medium-sized freshwater fish normally found in Australia, to high-end supermarkets in Hong Kong.

"If the product passes the quality and safety tests in Hong Kong, it will be much easier to pitch them in other areas of China," she said.

Wen's viewpoint is shared by other farm owners, who regard gaining certification to export agricultural products to Hong Kong as a means to access other high-end agricultural markets.

The Chinese mainland supplies the majority of food at the Hong Kong market. Live pigs, cattle, sheep, birds, aquatic animals and fruit are some of the major products imported from the mainland, according to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

In order to ensure the safety of products, all agricultural products originate from licensed farms that undergo regular inspections.

Wen's 24,000 square meter fish farm, in a suburban industrial park in Dongguan, applies strict safety requirements at each processing stage. These include a water purification process, vital for the fish to breed.