Basic food products cost almost a quarter of Hong Kongers’ minimum wage

Employees earn a minimum of $7,500 net monthly.

Local employees must spend 23.8% of their minimum wage to be able to buy a basket of basic food products, data from Picodi.com showed.

Last year, employees needed to spend 23.3% of their minimum wage to buy a food survival basket.

Here’s how much each group of products cost as of January 2023:

• Milk (10 litres) – $242.00
• Bread (10 loaves, 500 g each) – $183.00
• Rice (1.5 kg) – $24.00
• Eggs (20 pcs) – $45.00
• Cheese (1 kg) – $195.00
• Poultry and beef (6 kg) – $759.00
• Fruits (6 kg) – $166.00
• Vegetables (8 kg) – $170.00

“The given amounts are enough to meet the minimum nutrient requirement for an average adult,” Picodi.com explained.

In 2023, Picodi.com said the minimum wage grew slower than the prices of products.

Hong Kong’s minimum wage was unchanged from last year at $7,500 net monthly, whilst its shopping basket value increased 2.23% YoY in January 2023. 

With this, Hong Kong ranked 36th amongst places with the best basic food price ratio.