DAMNING market-hygiene reports and cases of poisoning from pesticide-sprayed vegetables from China have increased consumer awareness of organic foodstuffs, but supplies are limited in Hongkong.
Organic fruit and vegetables have a short shelf-life making it impractical for retailers to stock imports from overseas.
One supplier, Produce Green Ltd - which established an organic farm near Fanling in 1989 - sells to branches of Park'N Shop, although the majority of its 20 vegetable varieties are only available direct from the farm.
A spokesman for Dairy Green, which imports organic produce from Australia, said: ''Fresh organic food is in peak condition for a maximum of two weeks. Demand must be sufficient to ensure high turnover.'' But, one mainstream retailer feels the time may be right to import organic produce. To test the water, Seibu is staging a month-long organic food promotion in association with Dairy Green.
The Seibu promotion, which runs until May 8, will not be a high-profile or large-scale event, but will give shoppers access to a range of high-quality organic fruit and vegetables.
Ms Olivia Chu, of Seibu, explained the purpose of the promotion: ''Last year we introduced hydroponically-grown vegetables. They sold very well, so we felt the market potential for organic produce was good.'' All the produce, from broccoli to apples, bears official organic certification from Australia, there is also an educational video on organic farming and leaflets in Chinese and English.
Organic food is normally expensive - production is more labour intensive than commercial farming and wastage is high - so during the promotion, Seibu is offering a 10-20 per cent discount on normal prices.