Hong Kong-China trade slower, less reliable and more expensive amid coronavirus restrictions
- The logistics of moving goods between Hong Kong and China has been made more complicated, time-consuming and expensive due to coronavirus restrictions
- Merchants and industry experts say that deliveries from Hong Kong to China can take up to three weeks, while costs have doubled
Trade between Hong Kong and mainland China has been affected by difficulties moving goods during the coronavirus pandemic, leading to high costs and long delivery times, according to industry insiders.
Consumer products bound for mainland China are piling up in Hong Kong, while imports have been halted, people related to the food and drink industry said.
Logistics costs have risen by 50 to 200 per cent, and standard delivery times of one or two days have increased to around three weeks.
We have stopped purchasing for some time already. We’ll import again when the logistical process returns to normal
“We have stopped purchasing for some time already,” said Pierre Tam, president of the Hong Kong Wine Industry Association and senior manager for the China market at Global Wine Cellar.
“We just store potential orders [from China] at the place of origin, like France, instead of stocking up in Hong Kong. We’ll import again when the logistical process returns to normal.
“[In the past,] we would usually stock up wines in Hong Kong because of its zero tariffs, then we would do the custom clearance paperwork for the mainland. Once it was approved, we’d send the wine either by road or ship to our customers.”
Tam said obtaining wine takes longer now because transport costs are three times higher than usual amid the pandemic and supply chain disruptions.