The Hong Kong Association OF Freight Forwarding and Logistics (HAFFA) has welcomed a plan to lift a ban on land transshipment of "seriously harmful" e-cigarettes to Hong Kong International Airport.
HAFFA said the proposal to relax the ban on land transshipment of e-cigarettes in April 2022 would help boost air cargo volumes. The original ban was intended to prevent e-cigarettes from entering the local market.
The association said the "huge loss of transshipment business of e-cigarette products from the mainland" led to a 30% drop in air cargo traffic through Hong Kong's airport in January.
The company said the products were shipped via Macau or South Korea.
HAFFA stated that the government’s prohibition of e-cigarette transshipment by land in Hong Kong has “caused serious adverse effects on the e-cigarette industry” and “has caused an unprecedented blow to the economy and people’s livelihood.”
A survey of members last year showed that 330,000 tons of air cargo is affected by the ban every year, and the value of re-exported goods is estimated to exceed 120 billion yuan.
Liu Jiahui, chairman of the association, said: "Although the association agrees with the original intention of the legislation, which is to protect public health and create a smoke-free Hong Kong, we also strongly support the government's legislative (amendment) proposal to restore the existing transshipment methods in the freight logistics industry as soon as possible." The survival of the industry is critical.
"This association has proposed a brand-new and safe land transportation method to the Bureau of Transport and Materials, and firmly believes that the industry will also abide by the conditions proposed by the Bureau of Transport and Materials, actively cooperate with the strict regulatory measures required by the government, and directly Transfer to the airport cargo terminal to prevent e-cigarettes from entering the local black market."
"The association is currently actively discussing with the government the details of the proposed multimodal transport plan, and will do its best to resume land and air transport of e-cigarette products as soon as possible."
As mainland China loosened controls on e-cigarettes in May last year, more and more e-cigarettes were exported from the mainland to other countries around the world. Shenzhen and Dongguan in Guangdong are concentrated in more than 80% of China's e-cigarette production areas.
Senghor Logistics is located in Shenzhen, which has geographical advantages and industry resources. In order to match the growing demand for e-cigarettes, our company has our chartered flight to USA and Europe every week. It's cheaper a lot than the Airline’s commercial flights. It will be helpful to save your shipping cost.
Post time: Mar-24-2023
