Adequate shipment of fresh food products to Macao is being secured by Zhuhai Cereals, Oils & Foodstuffs Import-Export via greenlighted customs clearance during the ongoing corona virus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.

Every day, 30 live hogs, 7.5 tons of chilled fresh chicken, and 40 tons of vegetables are trucked to Macao by the company, a subsidiary of the state-owned Zhuhai Agricultural Investment Holding on West Cuiwei Road in Qianshan, according to Deng Quan, deputy general manager.

Prior to processing, an export clinician examines poultry in Doumen [Photo by Wu Changfu / Zhujiang Evening Post]

Export company personnel rise at 4 each morning to count, weigh, and check quality before transferring chickens to a slaughterhouse. The fresh produce is refrigerated promptly after slaughter and transported to Macao the next day, said staff member Liu Qiuping.

When Gongbei Checkpoint opens the customs gate at 6 every morning, trucks laden with aquatic produce, vegetables, fruit, and poultry queue at a green inspection channel for fresh agricultural products en route to Macao.

The chicken, which boasts a high quality and taste after acid discharge and pre-cooling, is popular with Macao customers. The company takes up to a 70 percent share of Macao's iced fresh chicken market, and accounts for 65 percent of the SAR's vegetable supply.

The company sent 200 tons of iced fresh chicken, 700 live pigs, and 34 tons of various fruits to Macao between Jan 24 and Feb 18. This was on top of 1,050 tons of vegetables including potatoes, Chinese cabbages, tomatoes, watercress, eggplants, and onions. Demand for varied supplies may further increase with the resumption of business.