Sales of fresh and frozen fish, livestock and poultry fell for a third consecutive month in June, but mainland tourists' shop-till-you-drop ways are underpinning Hong Kong's retail market.
The Hong Kong Retail Management Association expressed concern at the growing gulf between spending on daily necessities and the buying of luxury items and electronics products, largely by mainland visitors.
'I haven't seen a trend like this in the past decade,' said the association's chairwoman Caroline Mak.
'The imported spending power is driving up rents to an unrealistic level, while local consumers have to cut down on food and daily items because of rising inflation.'
Overall retail sales jumped 28.8 per cent year-on-year in June to HK$31.3 billion in terms of value.
However, consumption of fresh and frozen fish, livestock and poultry fell 15.2 per cent in terms of volume, following a 13.9 per cent drop in May and a 14 per cent fall in April.
Sales volumes at supermarkets also fell by 3.5 per cent in June, although surging prices meant their sales rose 12.6 per cent year-on-year. Escalating fuel prices meant that volume growth was far behind the growth in the value of sales.