HK Eye | In world's priciest luxury city, baby formula is most precious commodity
Infant milk formula is a precious commodity 'kept under lock and key', and Hong Kong's budget woes
The Wall Street Journal on Monday tweeted an astounding fact on the high cost of living in Hong Kong.
Luxury two-bedroom apartments there typically sell for US$4.81 million. The cost of consumer products is also high, with milk going for about US$10.22 a gallon and gasoline selling for about US$8.10 a gallon, according to Knight Frank, a U.K.-based real-estate consultancy.
In New York, a typical luxury two-bedroom apartment sells for much less, US$2.135 million. And consumer goods in the survey are far cheaper, relative to Hong Kong.
But wealth is relative. Milk may cost more than gasoline, but infant milk formula in the city is less expensive than in the mainland.
That fact has driven up demand for the commodity as parallel-goods traders cross the Shenzhen-Hong Kong border to buy up milk powder for mainland mums sceptical of the quality of domestic products.
As such, baby formula is a precious commodity - “kept under lock and key”, the Los Angeles Times reports - as locals complain of a shortage.
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