The first shipment of fresh chilled lamb produced in Guangdong province was loaded onto trucks under the supervision of customs officers in Zhuhai and moved to Macao on Tuesday.
It was the first time refrigerated local lamb from the province had been supplied to Macao, offering more choices for residents there.
Previously, refrigerated lamb in the Macao market mainly came from processing enterprises in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Hebei province and other parts of the Chinese mainland.
Zhuhai Runhe Food Co became the first company in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to qualify to supply it to Macao, building on its earlier experience with pork.
After live sheep enter the facility, they undergo six processes — cleaning, slaughtering, cutting, acid removal, cooling and packaging, Wang Wenwu, general manager of Zhuhai Runhehe Food Co said.
"Once they pass customs inspection and quarantine, they can be shipped to Macao in less than 12 hours, ensuring maximum freshness," Wang said.
At full capacity, the company will supply more than 1.8 tons of chilled lamb to Macao weekly.
Customs in Zhuhai has offered full-day appointment-based inspections, rapid certification and immediate release upon inspection to ensure that the lamb is efficiently tested and shipped.
As of Monday, Doumen Customs, a part of Gongbei Customs, has inspected and released 58 shipments of chilled pork totaling 27.85 metric tons and three of chilled beef totaling 250 kilograms for supply to Macao.
