By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-10-22 10:40:40 | Updated at 2024-10-22 13:23:14
2 hours ago
The highest bid for a food stall at Hong Kong’s main Lunar New Year fair next January has dropped by 17 per cent compared with last year, with vendors citing less intense competition due to the weaker economy.
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department on Tuesday conducted an auction for four food and 175 wet goods stalls at the Victoria Park fair, scheduled for January 23 to 29 next year. Auctions for 216 stalls for dry goods will be held over the next two days.
Two of the four food stalls sold for base prices of HK$120,470 (US$15,500). All four stalls measured 20 square metres each and are located near the park’s entrances.
This year’s highest bid for a food stall stood at HK$182,000, a 17 per cent drop from last year’s HK$220,000.
Food vendor Jason Ng, who won the bid for the most expensive food stall, said the space cost about 10 per cent less than what he paid for last year.
“There used to be a dozen other bidders in the past. There were only one or two others this year,” Ng said, attributing the lower participation to the pessimistic views of vendors as business was “very difficult” at the start of the year.
