AFCD to hold Local Organic Watermelon Festival 2025
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) will hold the Local Organic Watermelon Festival 2025 from June 20 to feature four highlighted varieties of organic watermelons this year.
A spokesman for the AFCD said today (June 18), "The annual Local Organic Watermelon Festival promotes local organic watermelons and other premium agricultural products, enhances sustainability of local agriculture, and provides farmers with opportunities to share their harvests and engage with the public."
At the Local Organic Watermelon Festival 2025, four highlighted varieties of watermelons, namely Reyan 2K, Hami Yellow Flesh, Super Sweet Black Angel 168 and Diana, will be featured. The Reyan 2K, a new variety introduced this year, is oblong with green, dark striped skin, has a thin rind and intense juicy red flesh with a sweetness of around 12 degrees Brix (degrees of Brix denote the units for measuring sucrose content in solution). The Hami Yellow Flesh, also oblong with dark green, striped skin, has yellowish-orange flesh and a sweetness of around 10 degrees Brix. The Super Sweet Black Angel 168 is small and spherical with dark striped skin and green and bright crimson-coloured flesh, also with a sweetness of around 12 degrees Brix. Diana, oblong with bright striped skin in yellow, features intense red flesh and a sweetness of around 11 degrees Brix. Local organic watermelons generally have a sweetness ranging from 8 to 12 degrees Brix.
The AFCD, together with the Vegetable Marketing Organization (VMO), the Federation of Vegetable Marketing Co-operative Societies Ltd and the MTR Corporation Limited will co-organise the first four-day organic farmers' market of the Local Organic Watermelon Festival 2025. The public can buy local organic agricultural products at Maritime Square 1 from June 20 to June 23. The event will also feature booth games and workshops, providing recreational activities for the public.
Furthermore, the AFCD will continue to invite all regular organic farmers' markets to join the Local Organic Watermelon Festival. Starting from July, the public can purchase local organic watermelons and other seasonal vegetables and fruits at organic farmers' markets across various districts. They can also order from the VMO via the "Local Fresh" website (www.localfreshhk.com) and mobile application or purchase from certified organic farmers listed on the Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre Certification Limited website (www.hkorc-cert.org/en). The opening dates and times of these farmers' markets are listed in the Annex. Local organic watermelons as well as other seasonal vegetables and fruits are available for a limited time while stocks last.
For more details on the Local Organic Watermelon Festival 2025, please visit the AFCD website (www.afcd.gov.hk/english) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/afcdgovhk).
AFCD to hold Local Organic Watermelon Festival 2025 Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
AFCD to hold Local Organic Watermelon Festival 2025 Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Leasing arrangements announced for public market stalls in April
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) announced today (April 1) that open auctions for a total of 501 stalls in 45 public markets will be held in April. Market stalls not taken at open auctions will be available to the public for renting at their upset prices on April 24 on a first-come, first-served basis.
(1) Open auctions
The types of stalls to be auctioned this time cover cooked food, frozen meat, fresh meat, fresh fish, frozen (chilled) poultry, fruits, vegetables, food-related dry goods and wet goods, non-food-related dry goods and wet goods, service trades, siu mei and lo mei, newspaper, etc. The tenancy agreement is a three-year fixed term from May 1, 2026, with no right of renewal upon expiry of the tenancy agreement. The upset prices of the monthly rent of the stalls vary depending on the sizes, locations and vacancy periods of the individual stalls. The upset prices for the stalls in an open auction will be initially fixed at 80 per cent of the open market rent (OMR) if the stalls have been vacant for over six months, and at 60 per cent of the OMR if the vacant period has been over eight months. Relevant information is available on the FEHD website.
The date of the auctions and the number of stalls are as follows:
Hong Kong Island and Islands District (except Aberdeen Market) (1)
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Auction date: April 9 (Thursday) (pm)
Number of stalls: 65
Hong Kong Island and Islands District (except Aberdeen Market) (2)
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Auction date: April 10 (Friday) (am)
Number of stalls: 68
Aberdeen Market
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Auction date: April 10 (Friday) (pm)
Number of stalls: 13
Kowloon (except Lai Wan Market) (1)
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Auction date: April 13 (Monday) (am)
Number of stalls: 78
Lai Wan Market
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Auction date: April 13 (Monday) (pm)
Number of stalls: 1
Kowloon (except Lai Wan Market) (2)
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Auction date: April 14 (Tuesday) (am)
Number of stalls: 64
Kowloon (except Lai Wan Market) (3)
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Auction date: April 14 (Tuesday) (pm)
Number of stalls: 64
New Territories (1)
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Auction date: April 15 (Wednesday) (am)
Number of stalls: 71
New Territories (2)
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Auction date: April 15 (Wednesday) (pm)
Number of stalls: 77
The open auctions will be held at Room 410, 4/F, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Nam Cheong Offices and Vehicle Depot, 87 Yen Chow Street West, Kowloon. Limited seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The admission tickets will be issued 30 minutes prior to the commencement of each auction. Persons who want to attend the auctions must wait at the waiting area of the auction venue and produce their Hong Kong identity card or passport for registration. The registered person will then be provided with an admission ticket for the auctions. In addition, eligible bidders after verification will be issued with a bidding paddle for the auction. The FEHD has also invited representatives of the Police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption to monitor the auctions at the auction venue in order to ensure that the open auctions are conducted in an orderly and fair manner.
(2) Renting at upset prices on first-come, first-served basis
The tenancy agreement for market stalls renting on a first-come, first-served basis is a three-year fixed term from June 1, 2026; while the tenancy agreement for the market stalls at Stanley Waterfront Mart is a four-month fixed term from June 1, 2026, with no right of renewal upon expiry of the tenancy agreement. The upset prices of the monthly rent of the stalls vary depending on their sizes, locations, vacancy periods and the reduced upset prices from the last open auction of the individual stalls.
In addition, the FEHD Sunlight Market will be available to the public for renting on a first-come, first-served basis. The licence agreement for market stalls in the Sunlight Market is a 24-month fixed term starting from June 1, 2026, with no right of renewal upon expiry of the licence agreement. The licence fee of the stalls varies depending on their sizes.
Members of the public who are interested in renting a market stall at its upset price should approach the following FEHD offices, as appropriate, to apply in person from 9.30am to 12.30pm or 2.30pm to 4.30pm on April 24 (Friday):
Districts in which the market stalls are located |
Venues for selection of market stalls |
Hong Kong Island and Islands District |
Hawkers and Markets Section (Hong Kong and Islands) Office, 8/F, Lockhart Road Municipal Services Building, 225 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong |
Kowloon |
Hawkers and Markets Section (Kowloon) Office, Room 301-302, 3/F, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Nam Cheong Offices and Vehicle Depot, 87 Yen Chow Street West, Kowloon |
Kwai Tsing District |
Kwai Tsing District Environmental Hygiene Office, 9/F, Kwai Hing Government Offices, 166-174 Hing Fong Road, Kwai Chung, New Territories |
North District |
North District Environmental Hygiene Office, 4/F, Shek Wu Hui Municipal Services Building, 13 Chi Cheong Road, Sheung Shui, New Territories |
Sai Kung District |
Sai Kung District Environmental Hygiene Office, 7/F, Sai Kung Tseung Kwan O Government Complex, 38 Pui Shing Road, Tseung Kwan O, New Territories |
Sha Tin District |
Sha Tin District Environmental Hygiene Office, Units 1201-1207 and 1220-1221, 12/F, Tower 1, Grand Central Plaza, 138 Sha Tin Rural Committee Road, Sha Tin, New Territories |
Tai Po District |
Tai Po District Environmental Hygiene Office, 3/F, Tai Po Complex, 8 Heung Sze Wui Street, Tai Po, New Territories |
Tsuen Wan District |
Tsuen Wan District Environmental Hygiene Office, 3/F, Yeung Uk Road Municipal Services Building, 45 Yeung Uk Road, Tsuen Wan, New Territories |
Tuen Mun District |
Tuen Mun District Environmental Hygiene Office, 1/F, Tuen Mun Government Offices Building, 1 Tuen Hi Road, Tuen Mun, New Territories |
Yuen Long District |
Yuen Long District Environmental Hygiene Office, 2/F, Yuen Long Government Offices, 2 Kiu Lok Square, Yuen Long, New Territories |
Relevant information on renting at upset prices on a first-come, first-served basis, will be available on the FEHD website after the open auction.
A spokesman for the FEHD said, "Bidders or applicants for the market stalls must be at least 18 years old and ordinarily reside in Hong Kong. To allow more people to bid for or select the stalls and increase customer choices by enhancing the diversity in terms of the variety of stalls, there will be a restriction on the number of stalls to be rented in the same market by a single tenant. Any person who is currently a stall tenant is not allowed to bid in the first round of auction for any stall in the same market, and will only be allowed to bid for one stall in the second round of auction or to select one stall in the same market on a first-come, first-served basis (except Stanley Waterfront Mart). The existing tenants under the new three-year fixed-term tenancy scheme (i.e. those persons who became stall tenants through the market open auctions after August 2022) are allowed to bid for a stall in the auction r select a stall on a first-come, first-served basis in the same market, but shall vacate the current stall and return it to the FEHD before the effective date of commencement of the new tenancy agreement."
Details of the open auctions and the public market stalls concerned (including stalls for open auction at reduced upset prices) have been uploaded to the FEHD website (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/pleasant_environment/tidy_market/open_auction_coming.html). Details on renting public market stalls on a first-come, first-served basis will be uploaded to the FEHD website after open auctions (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/pleasant_environment/tidy_market/FCFS/index.html). Interested bidders or applicants may visit the department website or contact the respective District Environmental Hygiene Office.
Source: AI-found images
