Hong Kong customs officers seize nearly 400kg of cherries being fraudulently passed off as a premium Australian brand
- The cherries were packed in boxes bearing the logo of the brand 43° South, whose 2kg boxes of cherries sell for as much as HK$600
- A saleswoman at the fruit shop where the cherries were being sold was arrested, and packaging equipment was seized in the raid
A brand of imported Australian cherries has become the latest to fall prey to counterfeiters, with Hong Kong customs seizing nearly 200 boxes of the fruit bearing a forged trademark on Thursday.
Senior Inspector Chu Po-ting, of customs’ intellectual property general investigation unit, said on Friday that a genuine 2kg box of the Tasmanian cherries, sold under the brand name 43° South, typically retailed for between HK$400 and HK$600 (US$52 to US$77), while the fakes were priced between HK$300 and HK$450.
“We believe counterfeiters used cherries bought at a cheaper price to sell as this brand of cherries to make a profit,” he said.
According to Chu, it was the first time customs officers found counterfeit-branded fruit in the city since 2019.
The seizure was made on Thursday at a fruit shop in Yau Ma Tei, where customs officers seized 196 boxes of cherries bearing the forged brand name, along with packaging equipment. The haul weighed nearly 400kg and was estimated to be worth about HK$80,000.
A 41-year-old saleswoman was also arrested in the operation. As of midday on Friday, she was still being held for questioning and had not been charged.