HK moves to ensure milk powder provision

The Hong Kong government Friday announced a string of measures to ease up milk powder shortage which included limiting the amount of baby formula taken away from Hong Kong to two tins per person.

Hong Kong's Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man said at a press briefing on Friday that the shortage was related to parallel trading activities and the limitation could stop parallel traders from bringing a large amount of milk formula out of the city, which in turn make their trading cost spur.

The government will also set up a hotline to assist local parents who have infants and young children to order milk formula of a total of seven brands, the health chief said, adding that about 200 people have been trained up to handle hotline inquiries and they are expected to be able to receive 6,000 incoming calls per hour.

Other measures included the Mass Transit Railway further restricting the weight of passenger-carrying luggage; the government also planned to refuse people who are suspicious of engaging in parallel trading to enter Hong Kong.

There has been a severe shortage of some popular brands of baby formula in the Hong Kong retail market recently due to the surging demand of buyers from the mainland where the quality of milk powder are often mistrusted.