Sweets, eggs, biscuits see big jump in prices

Grocery prices in Hong Kong supermarkets increased by about two percent overall between July 2022 and June last year, with sweets, biscuits and eggs seeing the biggest jumps, the Consumer Council said on Monday. The watchdog said it checked the prices of 300 items sold in ParknShop, Wellcome and Aeon stores. Chocolate and sweets saw the biggest increases among the 54 product groups surveyed, with a rise of almost 24 percent. Biscuits weren't far behind with a 12 percent rise, and eggs became 10 percent more expensive. The council said adverse weather conditions may have affected cocoa production, while avian influenza outbreaks in Japan, the United States and other countries could have affected egg production, leading to price hikes. Prices of canned and staple foods decreased slightly, as did those for cheese. Prices of frozen food, which was popular during the pandemic, barely changed. “The aggregate average price of a basket of 300 items was up by 1.9 percent over 2022,” said the council's chairman, Victor Lam. “The council recommends consumers to make good use of the council’s Online Price Watch to compare prices across different supermarkets and retailers before shopping.” In response to the report, the Hong Kong Suppliers Association also pointed to the war between Russia and Ukraine as a major factor affecting supply chains, saying this had caused some price increases.