Council launches weekly price survey - Kwai Chung District (October
09, 2008)
PDF version
The Consumer Council today (October
9) released its weekly price survey on a basket of 40 food and
household items available at major supermarket chains and other
retail outlets in the Kwai Chung District.
In the analysis were listed the top
10 products with the most price differences found in this survey.
Top on the list was: Nutritional Malted Drink 400g (from $23.5 to
$38.9, or a price difference of 65.5%).
Following closely were:
Sensitive Whitening Toothpaste 130g (from $22 to $35.9, or 63.2%);
Sweet and Sour Spare Rib Sauce 80g ($3.8 to $6, or 57.9%);
Glutinous Rice Dumpling 225g ($8.9 to $13.9, or 56.2%); Soy Sauce
600ml ($19 to $28.9, or 52.1%); Seaweed Cracker 100g ($3.9 to $5.9,
or 51.3%).
The remainders of the top 10
list were: Pickled Cabbage 200g ($3.5 to $4.9, or 40%); Gold Blend
Coffee 100g ($43 to $60, or 39.5%); Cream Style Corn 418g ($5.2 to
$7.2, or 38.5%); Freshmint Toothpaste 120g ($26 to $35.9, or
38.1%).
Other highlights in this weekly
price survey covering (a) prepackaged food products, (b) household
and personal care products, and (c) fresh produce,
include:
Prepackaged
Food
- A total of 27 items in this category at 9 retail outlets,
covering major supermarket chains, frozen food and grocery stores,
and health-and-beauty chain store in the Kwai Chung District, were
compared for their prices.
- Considerable differences between the lowest and the highest
unit prices were recorded, ranging from 5.1% to 65.5%.
- Overall, major supermarket chains were generally more
expensive, but a number of items were offered at discounted prices
for bulk purchase. For example, two major supermarket chains
offered Sweet and Sour Spare Rib Sauce 80g at a discounted price of
$12 for 3 or buy-2-get-1-free offer at unit price of $6, averaging
$4 each, bringing the price down to the same level as some retail
outlets but still higher than a frozen food supermarket store.
Household/Personal
Care Products
- A total of 9 items in this category at 11 retail outlets was
surveyed, with price differences ranging from 0% to 63.2%.
- Overall, prices at major supermarket chains and
health-and-beauty chain stores were generally higher than those at
drugstores, but some offered price discount incentives for bulk
purchase. Two major supermarket chains, for example, offered
Freshmint Toothpaste 120g at $59.8 for 2, averaging $29.9 each, but
even after price discount, drugstores were still comparatively
cheaper.
Fresh Produce
- Due to possible variations in the place of origin, quality,
size or freshness of fresh produce, direct price comparison is
considered not suitable.
- A total of 4 items from 2 to 4 stalls at the North Kwai Chung
Market and 2 major supermarket chains were included in the survey
for reference of consumers.
Results of the weekly price survey
are available on the Council's website http://www.consumer.org.hk/pricewatch/index.html
, its Consumer Advice Centres, and the Public Enquiry Service
Centre of Kwai Tsing District Office.
Price comparison report (Chinese
only) :
Microsoft Excel format /
PDF format
