Air cargo volumes in Hong Kong are being affected by regulations regarding the transportation of e-cigarettes to the Special Administrative Region (SAR) for transshipment.
The Hong Kong Freight Forwarders and Logistics Association (HAFFA) said the Smoking Ordinance 2021, which came into force in April, bans the import of smoking products such as e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products and herbal cigarettes. The ban also means that these products can no longer be trans-shipped through Hong Kong even when they arrive overseas by truck, except for air transshipment cargo and transit cargo left on aircraft and ships.
A survey of its members showed that 330,000 tons of air cargo are affected by the ban each year, with the value of transshipment cargo estimated at more than 120 billion yuan, and HAFFA said the ban “stifles the environment of the freight logistics industry and negatively impacts the livelihood of its employees.
HAFFA President Gary Lau said, “Since the passage of the regulation by the Legislative Council last October, the association has continued to receive numerous complaints from our members and other industry stakeholders that the regulation has had a serious adverse impact on the association.
“We have written to the Chief Executive/Policy Bureau four times on this matter. The Ordinance has led to a serious decline in Hong Kong’s overall airfreight export volume, costing the industry, airlines, cargo terminals and Hong Kong International Airport hundreds of thousands of tonnes of re-exports each year.”
“This will inevitably shake Hong Kong’s status as a regional transshipment hub, and people’s livelihoods will be dealt a huge blow.”
Lau said HAFFA agreed with the original intent of the legislation to protect public health, but strongly urged the government to allow land transshipment.
He said, “We will continue to do everything we can to continue to work with the government to expand the scope of exemptions under the ordinance to include land and air transshipment modes.”
HAFFA held an emergency meeting on Sept. 9 with industry groups, Deputy Financial Secretary Wong Wai-lun, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung and Transport Functional Constituency Legislative Council member Frankie Yee. “The meeting was convened to discuss the government’s ban on land-based transshipment of e-cigarettes, a move that stifles the environment of the freight logistics industry and negatively affects the livelihood of employees,” HAFFA said.
“HAFFA voiced its opinions, sought solutions and proposed a new set of safe land transportation methods to prevent illegal e-cigarette products from entering the black market through land transit to alleviate the government’s concerns,” it added.
