A bi-weekly price survey conducted by the Consumer Council found price differences of as much as 90 percent between supermarkets in Kwun Tong.

The survey released yesterday was conducted in 14 different retail outlets in Kwun Tong.

The 15 commodities surveyed include rice, milk powder, and household detergents.

According to the findings, most items were more expensive in supermarkets than in smaller grocery outlets and drugstores.

The seven cheapest items found in the survey were rice, cream of chicken soup, oyster sauce, ketchup, Chinese liquor, jelly powder and chicken powder, from two supermarket chains.

However, one of the chains was also found to have the highest prices for 10 of the items.

The Consumer Council found a 93.9 percent difference in the price of a 340g ketchup, the biggest discrepancy among the surveyed products. The product was sold at HK$9.5 in a supermarket, and HK$4.9 in another.

Meanwhile, four other commodities were found to have price differences of over 50 percent.

They include 305g cream of chicken soup with a 61.5 percent difference, 500ml cream cleanser with a 61.3 percent difference, 567g sliced pineapple in syrup with a 57.5 percent difference, and 90g jelly powder with a 51.5 percent difference.

Due to the price differences in various retail outlets, the Consumer Council called on consumers to shop around and compare prices before making a purchase.

(HK Edition 05/22/2008 page1)