Mainland Chinese shoppers lose trusted Hong Kong veggie tag as customs revamp hits shelves

Mainland Chinese shoppers lose trusted Hong Kong veggie tag as customs revamp hits shelves

Change sparks concern among consumers, with the Hong Kong label having long served as a selling point for high quality

The removal stems from new rules by the General Administration of Customs. From September 1, registration will no longer be required for growing farms, and only food-processing firms need to register.

This means vegetables grown on the same farms that supply Hong Kong can no longer carry the Hong Kong-bound label when sold in mainland supermarkets.

“Before, I just looked for the Hong Kong-bound label,” said a female consumer in a post this week on Chinese social media platform RedNote. “Now I must check the details myself, and that’s the change.”

Hong Kong-bound labelled lettuce was once a bestseller at Walmart-owned Sam’s Club on the mainland, drawing middle-class shoppers who trusted its quality.

Given its high popularity, the retailer added a tag on the product to explain the new customs rule. The 600-gram pack, still priced at 12.90 yuan (US$1.90), uses the same packaging and supplier from China’s northwestern Ningxia Hui autonomous region, distinguished only by the new “Dali lettuce” label.