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Local supermarkets slammed over pandemic price hikes
Prices of daily necessities in supermarkets went up more than inflation, according to the Consumer Council's survey on 230 products over the past year.
The watchdog found the aggregate average prices of the items to have gone up by 1.9 percent from 2019 to 2020, higher than the composite consumer price index of 0.3 percent.
The rise “indicates consumers’ burden to expend on staple food continued to increase,” said Lui Wing-cheong, Vice-Chairman of Research and Testing Committee of the Consumer Council.
Two supermarket chains, ParknShop and Wellcome, are studied in the Consumer Council’s annual supermarket price survey of 2020.
Nearly 65 percent of items, 147 items, that can be found in both chains recorded a price increase steeper than the inflation rate.
Out of the 13 product categories reviewed, the canned foods group recorded the highest rise of 19.9 percent within a year.
All 18 canned foods reviewed recorded a price increase, in particular, canned meats recorded a higher increase (25.1 percent) than canned fish (15.4 percent) and canned vegetables or soup (17.7 percent).
The item that recorded the highest percentage increase of 32.7 percent is “Greatwall Chopped Pork and Ham 198 gram”, from an aggregate average price of HK$10.7 in 2019 to HK$14.2 in 2020.
“Contrary to the popular belief that canned food was the cheapest food available, it did not appear as economical as many expected anymore,” Lui said.
Following the canned foods group, the “Bread, cake, spread” category holds the second-highest price increase of 6.4 percent.
The watchdog also found that packaged rice in supermarkets recorded a continuous price increase for three consecutive years, with an increase of 4.7 percent last year.
Among the nine packaged rice items reviewed, the watchdog found the price increase of two items of the “Golden Elephant Premium Jasmine Rice” sold in supermarkets to be “alarming”. Its packaged rice in 8kg recorded a rise of 9.1 percent, from an aggregate average of HK$96 to HK$104.7. Whereas its 5kg version recorded a 12 percent increase, from an average of HK$65.9 to HK$73.8.
On the other hand, the average price of four product categories dropped last year: “milk powder or infant diapers”, “instant beverage premix”, “tissues, household cleaning products, pet foods”, and “personal care products”.
“The Council calls on supermarket groups to shoulder more social responsibilities and tide over the difficult times together by trying to avoid increasing the prices of staple food and daily necessities,” Lui said.
The watchdog also reminds consumers to compare product prices carefully for a smart consumption choice.
The survey was announced within a week after Wellcome announced that it will lock prices on a range of over 350 products for another six months, from April to September, without revealing how many of them are of its brand. The “Low Prices Locked” campaign has been launched for six months, from October last year to this March.
The rise “indicates consumers’ burden to expend on staple food continued to increase,” said Lui Wing-cheong, Vice-Chairman of Research and Testing Committee of the Consumer Council.
Two supermarket chains, ParknShop and Wellcome, are studied in the Consumer Council’s annual supermarket price survey of 2020.
Nearly 65 percent of items, 147 items, that can be found in both chains recorded a price increase steeper than the inflation rate.
Out of the 13 product categories reviewed, the canned foods group recorded the highest rise of 19.9 percent within a year.
All 18 canned foods reviewed recorded a price increase, in particular, canned meats recorded a higher increase (25.1 percent) than canned fish (15.4 percent) and canned vegetables or soup (17.7 percent).
The item that recorded the highest percentage increase of 32.7 percent is “Greatwall Chopped Pork and Ham 198 gram”, from an aggregate average price of HK$10.7 in 2019 to HK$14.2 in 2020.
“Contrary to the popular belief that canned food was the cheapest food available, it did not appear as economical as many expected anymore,” Lui said.
Following the canned foods group, the “Bread, cake, spread” category holds the second-highest price increase of 6.4 percent.
The watchdog also found that packaged rice in supermarkets recorded a continuous price increase for three consecutive years, with an increase of 4.7 percent last year.
Among the nine packaged rice items reviewed, the watchdog found the price increase of two items of the “Golden Elephant Premium Jasmine Rice” sold in supermarkets to be “alarming”. Its packaged rice in 8kg recorded a rise of 9.1 percent, from an aggregate average of HK$96 to HK$104.7. Whereas its 5kg version recorded a 12 percent increase, from an average of HK$65.9 to HK$73.8.
On the other hand, the average price of four product categories dropped last year: “milk powder or infant diapers”, “instant beverage premix”, “tissues, household cleaning products, pet foods”, and “personal care products”.
“The Council calls on supermarket groups to shoulder more social responsibilities and tide over the difficult times together by trying to avoid increasing the prices of staple food and daily necessities,” Lui said.
The watchdog also reminds consumers to compare product prices carefully for a smart consumption choice.
The survey was announced within a week after Wellcome announced that it will lock prices on a range of over 350 products for another six months, from April to September, without revealing how many of them are of its brand. The “Low Prices Locked” campaign has been launched for six months, from October last year to this March.
