Agricultural suppliers see Hong Kong as door to big business

All the fish are bred in specialized conditions where the yearlong air temperature is maintained at 25 C to 30 C.

Workers and visitors have to go through a sanitization process before entering.

Less than 20 percent of the live fish from Wen's company are supplied to the Chinese mainland, mainly to high-end hotels and restaurants in Dongguan and Shenzhen.

However, the company has included the Chinese mainland in its long-tem growth target.

It planned to open sales outlets in all major cities across China and the first could open in Beijing in 2015, she said.

Other farmers that supply agricultural products to Hong Kong also share similar ambitions.

Jin Weiran, general manager of Yuli Vegetable Co in Rizhao, Shandong province, supplies 24 types of vegetables to Hong Kong supermarkets.

Jin said the quality standards for Hong Kong have helped him improve his quality control.

Jin said he is also targeting high-end supermarkets and hotels in major cities in the mainland.

He wants to lease more land from farmers, and local authorities have offered support.

"It is a step-by-step process. We need to maintain the quality of products while expanding the production scale," he said.