Coronavirus: Hong Kong shoppers hit by inflation-busting price rises at Wellcome and ParknShop, Consumer Council study finds
- About two-thirds of surveyed products subject to price rises greater than inflation, one product a third more expensive in 2020 than previous year
- Consumer Council urges supermarkets to ‘shoulder more social responsibility’ and take action to relieve the burden on consumers
Canned food, frozen meat and dim sum – among the most sought-after products of the health crisis – recorded some of the biggest price increases, the first category being 20 per cent more expensive and the latter two costing 10 per cent more.
They were among the 147 products, or 65 per cent of the basket, subject to price increases above the rate of inflation.
The largest rise for an individual product reported was 32.7 per cent for Greatwall’s 198-gram luncheon meat, which climbed from HK$10.70 in 2019 to HK$14.20 in 2020.
An increase of more than 13.3 per cent was recorded in the price of pre-packaged cakes, while the aggregate average sum paid for instant noodles was up 8.4 per cent.
Packaged rice was 5 per cent more expensive, logging a higher price for the third consecutive year.
“Consumers’ rising demand for daily necessities was thus reflected in the increasing retail prices at supermarkets last year,” said Dr Victor Lui Wing-cheong, vice-chairman of the council’s research and testing committee.
“Contrary to the popular belief that canned food was the cheapest food available, it did not appear as economical as many expected any more.”
However, there were price drops last year on products catering for tourists and those taking part in outdoor activities.
The survey found that items in the “milk powder/infant diapers” category cost 1.6 per cent less than in 2019.
While price tags were higher overall for beverage categories, bottled water and energy drinks together recorded a 1.7 per cent fall.
Despite being the target of panic buying in February last year at the beginning of the public health crisis, prices in the toilet paper and facial tissue category were 2.9 per cent lower.
Reminding consumers to compare product prices carefully before buying, the consumer watchdog also called on supermarkets to “shoulder more social responsibility”.
“As the pandemic badly affected the economy last year, and lots of households have suffered from a decrease in income, or even no income, the increase in necessities prices further aggravated the pressure on consumers,” Gilly Wong Fung-han, the watchdog’s CEO, said.
“I hope the suppliers and the supermarkets can be really stringent about raising the prices, and tide over the difficult times together with consumers.”
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In response to a Post inquiry, ParknShop said it had tried hard to absorb some of the inflationary increase, and pass the savings to customers.
“The unprecedented global pandemic has impacted all walks of life … All these resulted in increments in the cost of raw materials, transport, labour … [as well as affecting] supply and demand, thus causing the [increase in price],” the chain said.
Wellcome said it planned to add more products to its current discount scheme to stabilise the rising prices of daily necessities.
The council said the survey focused only on two supermarket chains, rather than the four previously covered, because one had downsized and the other no longer had the relevant data available.
Hong Kong, which has been in recession since the third quarter of 2019, confirmed its first coronavirus cases in January last year. The economy contracted 6.1 per cent in 2020, its worst decline on record.
