SHENZHEN still had an overall advantage over neighboring Hong Kong in commodity prices despite some partial price disadvantages, according to an investigation by the Shenzhen Economic Daily.
The investigation followed a recent spate of reports that daily price hikes for commodities were driving Shenzhen residents to Hong Kong to buy cheap commodities such as soy sauce.
Despite a commodity price hike on the Chinese mainland, prices of food like eggs, vegetables and meat in Shenzhen were still cheaper than in Hong Kong, according to the report.
Most vegetables and meat in Hong Kong are supplied by mainland cities. The cost of freight leads to a higher price in Hong Kong, said a Hong Kong woman, Kong, who comes to Shenzhen to buy food like vegetables and eggs each weekend.
Kong said eggs sold for HK$1.6 (US$0.21) each in Hong Kong, more than double the price in Shenzhen.
Prices in the service industry in Hong Kong were also much higher than in Shenzhen because of the high labor costs, which had driven many Hong Kong people to Shenzhen at weekends for cheaper sauna and spa services.
Deng Yaoqing, head of the Shenzhen-Pearl River Delta innovation research institute, said Hong Kong had a high cost of living and the average commodity price was more than 30 percent higher than in Shenzhen.
In addition, the labor cost in Hong Kong was five times the cost in Shenzhen, Deng said.
Most farm produce in Shenzhen is cheaper than Hong Kong. It is unlikely that Shenzhen people would buy soy sauce in Hong Kong, said Zheng Wei, a Shenzhen woman studying for a master s degree at City University of Hong Kong.
However, Hong Kong did have appeal for comparatively cheaper products such as brand-name bags, cosmetics and electronic products. (Martin Li)
