********************
Following is a question by the Hon Leung Yiu-chung and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (April 9):
Question:
Some stall tenants in the public markets under the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department have relayed to me that some public markets are poorly ventilated and their vacancy rates are on the high side, resulting in low patronage, which makes it difficult for them to do business there. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the overall vacancy rate of public markets in each of the past five years; whether it has conducted a study on the vacancy situation and the causes for it; if it has, of the outcome of the study and whether it has formulated measures to reduce the vacancy rate; if it has, of the details; if it has not formulated any measure, the reasons for that;
(2) whether it has found that some stalls in public markets are used only for storage rather than sale of goods; if it has, of the details and whether it has studied the impacts of this situation on the patronage of the markets; if it has not studied, of the reasons for that;
(3) given that upon installation of air-conditioning (A/C) systems in public markets, stall tenants will have to share recurrent expenses such as extra electricity charges, repair and maintenance costs of the A/C systems, whether it will study the provision of subsidies to stall tenants to encourage them to agree to the installation of A/C systems so as to improve the patronage of the markets; if it will provide subsidies, of the form of subsidies and the implementation timetable; if it will not provide subsidies, the reasons for that; and
(4) whether it will step up the promotion of public markets to increase its patronage and reduce the rents of stalls to alleviate stall tenants' business difficulties; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
In December 2013, the Government commissioned a consultant to develop proposals for improving the operating environment of public markets to enable them to fulfil their functions befitting their positioning. If the study progresses smoothly, the consultant is expected to submit the preliminary study findings in mid-2014.
My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(1) At present, there are 76 public markets selling mainly fresh provisions and other dry and wet goods, as well as 25 free-standing cooked food markets under the management of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), providing a total of some 14 440 stalls. The overall vacancy rate of public markets in each of the past five years is set out in Annex.
The occupancy of public markets is influenced by many factors, such as competition from retail outlets selling similar commodities in the vicinity and demographic changes in the district. In order to better utilise stalls that have been left vacant for a long time because of their poor locations, FEHD has since February 2009 lowered the upset auction prices to 80% and 60% of the open market rental for stalls which have been left vacant for six months and eight months respectively, for the purpose of enhancing their attractiveness. As at February 2014, a total of 2 452 stalls were let out through this arrangement. In addition, starting from July 2009, FEHD has gradually introduced service trades, light refreshment and bakery stalls with a view to diversifying the services provided in public markets. Under this scheme, a total of 114 stalls have been let out for service trades, light refreshment and bakery stalls so far. Since October 2010, FEHD has also let out small stalls through short-term tenancy on a trial basis to allow more flexibility for prospective tenants so as to increase the occupancy rate of public markets.
(2) Some tenants in public markets need extra space for storage due to the small size of their stalls. FEHD will lease long-standing vacant stalls and stalls in poor locations to existing tenants in the same market for storage purposes, as a means to forestall the practice of storing goods in passageways or on the top of the stalls. For stall operators who use their stalls only for storage rather than business purposes as required under the terms of tenancy, FEHD will take appropriate actions against them for breaches of tenancy agreements. Since 2013, 16 stall operators had their tenancy terminated due to breaches of tenancy terms whilst 15 terminated the tenancy agreements on their own initiative during the course of investigation.
(3) Under the current practice, whilst the Government is responsible for the costs of installing the air-conditioning system and its subsequent large-scale or system maintenance, the electricity charges and daily maintenance costs are borne by stall tenants pro rata to the floor area of their respective stalls. In keeping with the user-pays principle, we consider that this arrangement should remain unchanged.
(4) To boost customer flows in public markets, FEHD will continue to organise promotional activities, including thematic exhibitions, workshops and festive celebrations, display recipes in various languages, as well as publish booklets and the quarterly "Market Newsletter" to provide updated market information.
There has been no adjustment to the rentals of public market stalls since 1998. The rental freeze period has been extended several times to December 31, 2015. We consider that there is no room for further reduction in rentals.
Ends/Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Issued at HKT 15:18
NNNN
