Then & Now | When poultry feathers and pig bristles were big business in Hong Kong
- A 1950 UN embargo on Chinese trade put Hong Kong at the peak of the avian and swine product markets
- Stringent requirements were placed on a product’s origins in an attempt to prove that China would not benefit from any sales
Two early Hong Kong industries, which had both local and international significance until the 1970s but have almost completely vanished, were poultry feathers and pig bristles.
From the late 19th century, Hong Kong’s trade directories all listed various companies and managing agencies that dealt with feathers, bristles and their manufactured products. By the early 50s these – like many such businesses – were also the public face (and a discreet source of funds) for Chinese Communist Party United Front political activities.
In the days when China’s external trade was stifled by a United Nations embargo, Hong Kong businesses provided a vital conduit through which China products – poultry feathers and pig bristles among them – could be channelled to the outside world. Rebadged as being of Hong Kong origin, these were an essential source of much-needed foreign exchange.
In the immediate post-war era, Hong Kong produced a great deal of poultry. Feathers had various uses, the most usual being stuffing material for pillows and quilts. Goose-down quilts are extremely warm and – with proper care and frequent airing – can last for decades. Duck down is the next best thing; bleached and chopped chicken feathers are the cheapest alternative, and were often mixed with other poultry downs for a more economical product.
While much of this output was destined for domestic consumption, a significant amount of chicken, duck and goose meat, and other animal by-products, was intended for export.