Big savings nudge Hong Kong shoppers to ignore ban on meat, eggs from mainland China
More Hongkongers caught bringing in banned food, but shoppers in Shenzhen say they can’t resist low prices
Hong Kong grandmother Shirley Cheung* knows she is breaking the law every time she buys partially cooked beef brisket in Shenzhen to bring home.
At a hotpot restaurant at Shenzhen’s Liantang Port, the brisket costs about 76 yuan (US$11) per kilogram. It would be more than HK$200 (US$26) at her local wet market in Sheung Shui in the New Territories.
“These fresh briskets are delivered to this restaurant only once a day, perfect for making soups and stews,” Cheung, 66, said. “The quality and price make it irresistible, and the meat looks cooked after blanching.”
She is among numerous Hong Kong residents who disregard the law and ignore signs at the border crossing telling them not to bring back food products without proper hygiene certificates, including partially cooked meat that bleeds when cut.
“Everyone does this to save money,” the grandmother of three said. “I doubt the customs officers will catch us all.”
Hong Kong’s Customs and Excise Department spotted 1,324 cases of illegal imports of food items at land-based border checkpoints between January and August. That surpassed the 1,019 cases over the whole of last year.
Most of those caught had raw meat. The 817 caught in the first eight months of this year surpassed the 467 arrested over the whole of last year.
