Hopes for Sheung Shui slaughterhouse to resume fresh meat supply coming Wednesday

Sheung Shui slaughterhouse could resume fresh meat supply next Wednesday, after all staffers undergo Covid-19 tests this Sunday, Pork Traders General Association chairman Hui Wai-kin said.

The slaughterhouse closed on February 26 after workers got infected. 

"The staff needs to obtain a negative test result before they go to work. We hope the supply of fresh pork can return normal next Wednesday morning,” he said on Thursday. 

He also said operations at a slaughterhouse are interlinked. When there is shortage of manpower for one part, normal operations cannot continue.  

"Only 10 percent of employees can enter the slaughterhouse for the time being," Hui said. "More than 800 employees got tested earlier, of whom 170 results returned positive.".

He also thanked the 38 mainland slaughterers who arrived in Hong Kong to assist operations on Wednesday: "They came from different cities including Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Inner Mongolia, and they have professional slaughtering experience.

On the other hand, food suppliers continue to reassure citizens that there is ample supply and they should not panic. 

Hong Kong & Kowloon Provisions, Wine & Spirit Dealers' Association chairman Yip Pun-leung said Hong Kong has enough stocks of canned food which can last two to three months.

He said more than 80 percent of canned food in Hong Kong came from Sichuan, Henan and Anhui provinces. Mainland factories have resumed work after the Lunar New Year and the city is expected to see several millions of canned food arriving this month.

He also said the pandemic triggered a surge in the demand for canned food. The number of cans sold recently was about three to five times the usual.

"But goods will continue to arrive in Hong Kong," he said. "Shelves were emptied was because many in the logistics industry were infected, and the transport capacity could not catch up with the supply. There there is sufficient stock of grain, oil and rice in Hong Kong."