Government set to crackdown on infant formula trading

The government is likely to announce measures to crack down on the cross-border trading of infant formula today, the South China Morning Post has learnt.

Making infant milk formula a "reserved commodity" like rice is the main solution among a basket of measures the administration is now considering, a government source said.

"We are studying the related ordinance in details in order to stop parallel trading activities," the source said after an interdepartmental meeting yesterday.

The move to add the baby product under the Reserved Commodities Ordinance may take weeks to take effect after a proposal of amendment is submitted to the Legislative Council. But it is believed to be one of the quickest ways to ban parallel trading, where people buy stock tax-free in Hong Kong to resell it in mainland China at a profit, which is widely seen as the major reason for an acute shortage and inflated prices of the products.

The government would then set a quota to limit visitors from taking more than a few tins of powder over the border. Executive councillor Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, who proposed the measure, has suggested that each traveller be allowed to carry two cans of formula out of the city at most.

Executive Council convenor Lam Woon-kwong backed the amendment and told the Post: "It is the right way forward."

Other methods - such as setting up a government centralised hotline for local mothers to place orders for formulas, and blacklisting retailers who use dubious sale practices - have been discussed among various options to ensure stable supplies.