HK residents are worried that milk powder scarcity will be worse due to China’s new birth policy

HK residents are worried that milk powder scarcity will be worse due to China’s new birth policy
Nov 20, 2013 01:12
KEVIN0518 Points: Join Date: Mar 13, 2007 Status: offline	China has issued a new birth policy that couples where one side is an only child can have their second baby. It’s estimated that 15 to 20 million Chinese people will be allowed to have their second baby after this new policy is implemented. Thanks to the one-child policy, the birth rate in China has been very low in recent years. Another result is that China population is aging. The aging population has no benefit on China’s development. Therefore, a new policy has been issued. Some HK residents are worried that the new birth policy will aggravate the milk powder scarcity in HK. This March, HK authorities issued a new regulation that foreigners can only bring 1.8 kilograms milk powder out of HK. Anyone who breaks the regulation will be detained for two years and fined 500000 HK dollars. Before the regulation was implemented, many Chinese young parents rush into HK to buy milk powder. They believed that milk powder sold in HK were much better than those sold in mainland China. A source even said that HK parents couldn’t buy enough milk powder to feed their babies because the milk powder was almost sold out thanks to those mainland Chinese parents. Previously, it was reported that the regulation could have been canceled this year. Now the authorities have to think about it twice because of the new birth policy to be implemented in mainland China. However, some analysts remark that baby boom won’t appear in the future after China implements its new birth policy. It is estimated that 9 to 15 million more babies will be born in future 10 years because of this new policy.

Nov 20, 2013 01:12

KEVIN0518
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Join Date: Mar 13, 2007
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China has issued a new birth policy that couples where one side is an only child can have their second baby. It’s estimated that 15 to 20 million Chinese people will be allowed to have their second baby after this new policy is implemented.

Thanks to the one-child policy, the birth rate in China has been very low in recent years. Another result is that China population is aging. The aging population has no benefit on China’s development. Therefore, a new policy has been issued.

Some HK residents are worried that the new birth policy will aggravate the milk powder scarcity in HK. This March, HK authorities issued a new regulation that foreigners can only bring 1.8 kilograms milk powder out of HK. Anyone who breaks the regulation will be detained for two years and fined 500000 HK dollars. Before the regulation was implemented, many Chinese young parents rush into HK to buy milk powder. They believed that milk powder sold in HK were much better than those sold in mainland China. A source even said that HK parents couldn’t buy enough milk powder to feed their babies because the milk powder was almost sold out thanks to those mainland Chinese parents.

Previously, it was reported that the regulation could have been canceled this year. Now the authorities have to think about it twice because of the new birth policy to be implemented in mainland China.

However, some analysts remark that baby boom won’t appear in the future after China implements its new birth policy. It is estimated that 9 to 15 million more babies will be born in future 10 years because of this new policy.

Nov 23, 2013 10:45

WANHU
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Why stop people from buying? If I were the milk producer, I would be very happy with such situation and will produce more due to great demands. Indeed, ifyou look near Luohu Kou'an (the mainland side) many street peddlars are selling milk powder from Hong Kong under the pedestrian bridge. Along the way between two immigration counters of Hong Kong and Mainland China, I could see scores of people carrying disposable diapers and milk powder from Hong Kong.
Wan

Nov 26, 2013 20:02

KEVIN0518
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Wan,

HK just tries to control buying from people out of HK. Yesterday, I read that HK once gave vouchers to its people for buying milk powder. However, some HK parents still can't buy the milk powder because buyers from mainland China almost sweeps all milk powder shops. Therefore, a rule is released to control mainland buyers who buy milk powder in HK.

Is mainland China lack of milk powder? NO, people are worried about the quality of milk powder sold in mainland China. It's said that HK has more strict regulations on food quality supervision than mainland China. What's more, the same brand milk powder sold in HK and mainland China has different formulae.

Nov 27, 2013 08:27	#3
WANHU Points: Join Date: Feb 20, 2007 Status: Offline	It's true, dear Kevin. Then understanding the market trends, surely milk producers or importers would be happy to produce more. After all, the price is still the same and they can make tons of profits from such great demands. As we may understand, most mainland nationals are restricted to visit Hong Kong, many of them are given twice a year and 7 days per entry. Wan

Nov 27, 2013 21:07

KEVIN0518
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Exactly. HK is too small if we compare with some metroplises in mainland China. It can't accommodate too many people.

Some HK residents don't like mainland people. They call us "locusts". You know, before HK took actions to limit the number of pregnant women who come from mainland and plan to give birth in HK, many mainland pregnant women come to HK to give birth to their babies. Their babies can become HK people and enjoy better fundamental resources.

Some HK people think those mainland people who come to reside in HK occupy limited resources there.

Nov 30, 2013 13:10

WANHU
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HK has special allocations, including Central Bank, Immigration, Customs, etc. The Chinese mainland most of them can only visit Hong Kong only 7 days per entry. I also observe that vehicles from Hong kong enter Shenzhen but I didn't see any Shenzhen vehicle enters Hong Kong.

Anyway, if I am into business, I would be very happy to sell my merchandise to anyone who wants to buy. By understanding the market trends, if I am a milk producer I would produce more, and if I'm an importer, I would import more as I see many potential buyers from mainland China. Why limit?

Take Langkawi Island for example. A lot of foreigners come to Langkawi (Malaysia) to buy duty free perfumes, cigarettes and wines. The shop owners if possible would like too sell the whole stock in the store. They can get fresh and new stock.

Now school holidays in Malaysia. The usual Fererro Rocher chocolates are almost out of stock except with 36 pcs per tray that are sold at MYR18 which in China one tray is sold over 100 Yuan. Soon the shop owners will replenish with new stock.

Wan

Dec 10, 2013 21:29	#6
KEVIN0518 Points: Join Date: Mar 13, 2007 Status: Offline	In fact, mainland China has done its best to support HK. Food, vegetables, water, electricity and other supplies are transported to HK. However, they just call us Locusts. Perhaps, we should learn from them to limit the supply of food, vegetables, water, electricity and other resources.

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