Lawmakers, district councillors rally against review of Hong Kong’s milk powder export restrictions

Fears linger that traders will again flood pharmacies near New Territories border, interrupting daily lives of residents

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Traders handling luggage outside Sheung Shui station in 2013. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 9:32pm, 14 Oct 2017Updated: 11:25pm, 14 Oct 2017

A government review of the amount of infant formula a person can legally carry out of Hong Kong has triggered a backlash from local lawmakers and district councillors.

Restrictions were introduced in 2013 that banned travellers transporting more than two tins of milk powder, or 1.8kg, per person out of the city. The policy was aimed at easing a shortage of the product experienced by local parents, who found themselves competing with parallel traders snapping up supplies for resale across the border in mainland China, where many consumers harbour concerns about the safety and quality of local produce.

Customers queuing up to buy boxes of Japanese milk powder from a store in Hong Kong. Photo: AP

The shortage in Hong Kong triggered several protests, forcing the government to intervene.

The city’s leader, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, said in her maiden policy address on Wednesday that the government would carry out a review of the export controls in the hope of addressing the concerns of “different stakeholders”.

But Lam’s proposal has drawn criticism from a member of the city’s legislature and several district councillors, who staged a campaign against the review on Saturday over fears that traders would again flood pharmacies near the New Territories border and interrupt the daily lives of local residents.