Xie Zhanhuan: Expects that the first phase application allowing dogs to enter restaurants can be approved by mid this year

The Director of the Environment and Ecology Bureau, Xie Zhanhuan, stated at the Legislative Council meeting that regarding the application for outdoor seating at restaurants, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, together with relevant departments, has streamlined the procedures and established a new "review" mechanism. This new mechanism will be used to approve applications starting this month, with simple and straightforward cases expected to receive preliminary approval and specific licensing requirements within about one month.

In addition, the legislative amendments allowing dogs to enter restaurants have been submitted to the Legislative Council for review, with the first phase of applications expected to be approved by mid-year. It is believed that while promoting human-animal integration, this will also open up new business opportunities for the catering industry.

Regarding the food industry, the authorities will continue discussions with mainland authorities to allow more Hong Kong-produced food to benefit from market access and convenient customs arrangements in the mainland. To reduce compliance costs for the industry and encourage exports, the Centre for Food Safety has exempted all fees related to testing certificates for two years starting from this month.

As for local fisheries and agriculture, the Fisheries and Conservation Department issued the first batch of licenses for marine fish farming in the new fish farming zones located in Wong Chuk Kok and Tai Peng Wan last year, and is providing deep-sea net cages for the industry to rent. The authorities expect local marine fish farming production to increase to 1,200 metric tons by 2027, with a goal of further increasing to approximately 6,000 metric tons by 2037.

At the same time, the leveling works for the multi-story environmentally friendly pig farm located in Lo Wu are expected to be completed on schedule within this year. The Fisheries and Conservation Department is currently assessing the applicants for operations. Additionally, the department is preparing to launch a new unified brand for local fishery and agricultural products by mid-year, along with certification, testing, and traceability mechanisms, to provide citizens with safe and high-quality fresh options, while also increasing industry income