HK$40 cherries in Hong Kong? Why US-China trade war means sweet savings

A bitter trade dispute between Washington and Beijing has delivered an unexpected windfall for Hong Kong shoppers, with a glut of diverted US cherries flooding the market and bringing prices for some shipments to their lowest levels in two decades.

Stalls in the bustling Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Fruit Market are now offering the popular summer fruit from Washington state for as little as HK$40 (US$5.10) a pound, a steep discount from past years.

The price is partly a consequence of high tariffs imposed on US goods by China under the tit-for-tat escalation in the trade war between the two countries.

The total tariff rate on American cherries stood at 58 per cent as of mid-June, according to an industry publication. The measure prompted suppliers to divert large quantities of the highly perishable fruit to tariff-free Hong Kong, which operates as a separate customs entity distinct from mainland China.

A senior sales specialist, surnamed Cheng, at major fruit importer Kingo Fruits (HK) said on Tuesday that the entire Yau Ma Tei market might have processed around 8,000 cartons of airfreighted cherries a day at its peak last year.

This year, the daily volume had surged to as high as 12,000 cartons at its peak, he said.