Browse Data and Analysis

Hot and dry conditions in the autumn and winter of 2024 led to a drop in the production of South African sugar cane. This is expected to translate into a slight decrease in sugar production and exports.

Bite size local news, Post reports and activity summaries wrapped by ATO Hong Kong. In this issue: Consul General Greg May and ATO Hong Kong Open the USA Pavilion and Welcome U.S. Exhibitors at Asia Fruit Logistica 2024; The U.S. Dairy Export Council Showcases the Diversity of U.S. Cheese to Hong Kong Buyers...

Hong Kong’s food retail sales remained stable at $12.2 billion in 2023, however retailers face growing challenges as more budget-minded residents travel to mainland China to save on food purchases, leading to a 4.7 percent decline in food retail sales in the first seven months of 2024.

Bite size local news, Post reports and activity summaries wrapped by ATO Hong Kong. In this issue: ATO Hong Kong teams up with Hong Kong Polytechnic University to train student chefs and showcase U.S. ingredients; Cotton Council International brings Cotton USA Sustainability and Transparency Seminar to Hong Kong...

The animal feed industry in South Africa is well established and highly scientific. Efficient formulations have enabled significant expansion of the livestock sector driven by a surge in local meat consumption.

Due to recent recalls by Hong Kong authorities of food products containing ethylene oxide (ETO), ATO Hong Kong reminds all U.S. exporters that ETO is not permitted in food products for sale in Hong Kong.

Post forecasts that chicken meat production will increase by three percent to 1.65 million tons in Marketing Year (MY) 2025 as a result of a strengthening domestic sector. Post raises the 2024 production estimate by 6 percent to 1.59 million tons as the industry has rebounded from the 2023 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak.

The South African Department of Agriculture is in the process of finalizing requirements related to “control management systems,” which may include additional requirements of documentation to support label claims for imported food products.

On July 19, 2024, the South African government published a new sugar import tariff of R1,093 per metric ton (US$60.09/MT). This tariff change was triggered by a downward trend in global sugar prices and will apply to sugar imported into the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU).

On August 13, the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety (CFS) confirmed to ATO Hong Kong that effective February 14, 2025, the Special Autonomous Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) will transition from a “systems-based” approach to recognizing foreign meat and poultry establishments to an “establishment or plant-based” registration system.

In July 2024, falling global wheat prices triggered a wheat import duty of Rand 176.30 (USD 9.70) per metric ton for South Africa ending more than three years of duty-free imports. The higher import duty was introduced amid a 7 percent drop in wheat planted area for marketing year 2024/25.

This report provides guidelines on Hong Kong’s food import regulations.