Coronavirus: Hong Kong residents rush to stock up on frozen meat after outbreak at abattoirs affects supply
- Closure of two slaughterhouses has affected supply, with a number of fresh meat stalls closed and residents forced to buy frozen products instead
- Mainland China is studying how to help Hong Kong resolve food supply problems, an official there tells the Post
Most fresh meat stalls in Hong Kong’s wet markets were closed on Saturday because of a shortage of supply, forcing residents to stock up on frozen products instead.
The panic buying scenes were triggered by the closure of Sheung Shui and Tsuen Wan slaughterhouses early Saturday morning, after the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department found 183 positive Covid-19 cases out of 866 samples from people in the Sheung Shui abattoir the day before.
The two facilities are closed until further notice for disinfection. The government has also appealed to food suppliers to increase the stock of frozen meat products to meet community demand.
Mainland China was studying how many butchers Hong Kong would need and what facilities could be used temporarily, an official there told the Post.
“It is easier to send pork to Hong Kong than sending butchers and live pigs there,” the source said. “The problem is now the existing facilities need to be cleaned and sterilised … The mainland will send an adequate supply of pork while figuring out ways to help Hong Kong resolve its current problems.”
The shortage of fresh meat was keenly felt by stall owners and customers in two wet markets the Post visited on Saturday morning.
In Tiu Keng Leng, all four fresh meat stalls at Choi Ming market were closed.
Meanwhile, an employee at a fresh pork stall at Sheung Tak wet market in Tseung Kwan O said fresh meat was sold out by about 9am, three hours after the business opened, while another stall owner said she would not increase prices despite the drop in supply.
