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The Permanent Secretary for Food and Health (Food), Mrs Marion Lai, today (January 8) met with representatives of seven major powdered formula suppliers, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Pharmacy Limited and major chain stores. The meeting followed up on the implementation of various improvement measures on the supply chain of powdered formula for local infants and young children discussed last month. She again urged the trade to ensure sufficient supply of powdered formula for local infants and young children in the run-up to Lunar New Year.
At the meeting, the suppliers and retailers briefed the Government on the latest progress of the implementation of a series of improvement measures since the last meeting. The suppliers said they had strengthened the promotion of their various pre-order services, including the Coupon Scheme, through channels including the media and Internet.
Since the end of last month, the trade has arranged to display the Coupon Scheme logo at the 92 participating pharmacies to help parents of local infants and young children to identify these pharmacies. These pharmacies have also started distributing information cards to the parents concerned, advising them on how to order powdered formula through the Scheme.
"We anticipate that from now till Lunar New Year, demand for powdered formula for infants and young children will be rather strong. The suppliers and retailers must therefore stay alert. They should continue to implement the various supply chain improvement measures and respond to the demand caused by local infants and young children in a timely manner. The trade should continue to stay fully-prepared on reserving stock for local infants and young children, arranging replenishment of stock at retail outlets and handling a large number of calls to their hotlines, so as to ensure that supply of powdered formula for local infants and young children is sufficient and stable," a spokesman for the Food and Health Bureau (FHB) said.
The seven major powdered formula suppliers have already set up various pre-order channels for local infants and young children. Apart from the Coupon Scheme, orders may also be placed through suppliers' hotlines to receive home delivery or to collect powdered formula at chain stores. Through separating local demand from non-local demand, these channels can act as a "dedicated supply chain" to ensure sufficient supply of powdered formula for local infants and young children.
"In the face of a tight market situation, purchasing powdered formula through pre-order services is a preferred approach. The trade has promised at today's meeting that parents placing orders through the above channels will receive powdered formula within three working days (excluding Saturdays and public holidays) after confirmation of the orders. As such, parents in need may actively consider making full use of these channels to purchase in good time the appropriate amount of powdered formula," the spokesman said.
The FHB also maintains close liaison with the Consumer Council. If consumers are dissatisfied with the supply of powdered formula and related services, they can lodge complaints with the Council. The Council will refer the complaints received to the suppliers directly for follow up.
To get a good grasp of the market situation, the FHB has commissioned a consultant to conduct regular surveys on the supply of powdered formula as well as whether there is any unusual fluctuation in prices. The relevant reports will be submitted to the Committee on Supply Chain of Powdered Formula to seek their views on how to improve the supply chain.
It is expected that parallel trading activities will become active with the approach of Lunar New Year. To prevent parallel traders from diverting powdered formula away from the supply chain in Hong Kong, the Customs and Excise Department and the Mainland customs authorities will step up enforcement actions at various control points to target against the illegal export of powdered formula.
Since the enactment of the Import and Export (General) (Amendment) Regulation 2013 on March 1, 2013 and up till January 3, 2014, a total of
2 954 persons have been convicted, involving 20 161 kilogrammes of powdered formula.
The FHB will continue to closely monitor the supply of powdered formula and maintain close liaison with the trade to ensure sufficient supply of powdered formula for local infants and young children.
Ends/Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Issued at HKT 19:11
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