Hong Kong grocery prices up 10 per cent from pre-Covid era, canned food at least 30 per cent more costly: consumer watchdog
- Consumer Council points to pandemic and disruption to global supply chain, as well as stay-home rules in past three years inducing people to stockpile items
- Aggregate average prices of supermarket goods in 2022 also rose by 2.1 per cent year on year – the steepest surge since 2013
Grocery prices in Hong Kong have surged 10 per cent from pre-pandemic levels, while canned food is at least 30 per cent more expensive, according to a survey by the city’s consumer watchdog.
The Consumer Council on Monday revealed results of its comparison of the costs of 80 items across 15 selected groups through its “Online Price Watch” tool, which found that the four types of goods with the largest price increase were all canned items.
It said the items were from Hong Kong’s three major supermarkets – ParknShop, Wellcome and AEON.
The aggregate average price of the 80 products increased by 12 per cent in the first quarter of 2023 compared with 2019.
Canned vegetables and fruits saw the highest increase at 39 per cent in the first quarter of 2023 compared with the same period in 2019. Canned soups and fish also recorded a 35 per cent and 32.6 per cent increase respectively.
