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Hong Kong made mooncakes seized in mainland China 'in crackdown on parallel-goods trading'
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 15 September, 2015, 12:09pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 16 September, 2015, 3:38am
Lai Ying-kit
[email protected]
The mainland has imposed controls on the import of food containing egg, however suspected parallel-goods trading activities is seen at the Sheung Shui train station. Photo: Felix Wong
Food safety officials are seeking clarification over a reported ban on deliveries of mooncakes from the city to the mainland - a move they suspect is part of a crackdown on parallel trading activities, the health minister said yesterday.
Mainland media reported on Monday that a shipment of 190 boxes of Hong Kong-made mooncakes was seized in Zhejiang province last week, possibly due to controls on the import of foods containing egg.
Fresh eggs, salted eggs and other products made with egg cannot be carried or posted to the mainland, according to a catalogue issued by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Such controls were practised in some countries for the prevention of infectious diseases, Secretary for Food and Health Dr Ko Wing-man said yesterday before flying to Beijing on a visit.
The Centre for Food Safety is enquiring about the reported confiscation of a shipment of Hong Kong-made mooncakes in Zhejiang province last week, Secretary for Food and Health Dr Ko Wing-man says. Photos: Edward Wong, Stanley Shin
But he believed the seizure was aimed at so-called parallel traders, who buy goods in Hong Kong for resale to avoid mainland taxes. Such traders have been the subject of bitter, sometimes violent, protests by Hongkongers who accuse them of swamping towns close to the border.
"This probably relates to a crackdown on parallel-goods trading," Ko said. "The mainland authorities have the right to do that."
On Monday, Shenzhen launched a four-day crackdown on traders at the border, the media reports added.
One of the pharmacies sell boxes of mooncakes in Sheung Shui. Photo: Felix Wong
Since the news emerged, parallel-goods trading activities near the border had quietened, North District Parallel Imports Concern Group spokesman Leung Kam-shing said.
"Most storage centres in two industrial areas where parallel-goods traders store their products have closed," he said. "The Lo Wu border crossing has also become quieter."
Leung expected traders to lie low during the crackdown, which comes ahead of this month's Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, but was concerned they would be back later.
He said North District had seen an increasing number of mainland tourists and traders buying mooncakes in the past few years. He said supply to local residents remained sufficient.
The Beijing Morning Post reported that some mooncake deliveries from outside the mainland had been confiscated.
A woman was quoted as saying she had spent 988 yuan (HK$1,200) on two boxes of egg yolk mooncakes through a Hong Kong online shop last week.
She had bought mooncakes from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Vietnam online before.
