Supermarket prices have risen by an average of 6.8 per cent over the past year, with eggs, infant formula and canned fish soaring above the prices of other household basics, the latest consumer watchdog survey has revealed.
The Consumer Council conducted an annual poll of the prices of 200 common household food items and daily necessities at three major supermarket chains - China Resources Vanguard, ParknShop and Wellcome. It said the average increase was much higher than that of the Composite Consumer Price Index, which rose by 4.1 per cent.
The highest average increases were seen in the prices of canned fish, which leapt 18.1 per cent; eggs, up 17.5 per cent; and milk powder, which was 17.3 per cent higher. The only decline was in alcoholic drinks, whose prices fell 5 per cent.
But by far the biggest price increase was that of infant formula Wyeth Progress Gold No2, which skyrocketed 40.4 per cent from HK$182.2 to HK$255.8 over the year.
Gilly Wong Fung-han, the council's chief executive, said she could not rule out the price surge being the result of tight supply and high demand for milk powder in the city.
In March, the government limited baby formula exports to two cans per person in response to a mounting public outcry over bulk purchases by parallel traders that caused a severe shortage of formula in the city.
