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Vendors at Hong Kong’s largest Lunar New Year fair are bracing for a tougher season with successful bidders paying much higher prices for stalls at next year’s event. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department on Thursday held its auction for 78 dry goods stalls at the fair in Victoria Park, which is scheduled for February 11 to 17 next year. It was the third and final day for the bidding of stalls in Victoria Park, which includes four food stalls, 180 wet goods stalls, 170 regular dry goods stalls and 46 large dry goods stalls. “It is more competitive than last year with more bidders and higher prices,” said Kim Chan, a 28-year-old who successfully secured a spot for HK$17,100 (US$2,187). Last year, she spent slightly above HK$10,000 to get a stall in a similar location. Chan said sales at the last event were “miserable” so she planned to add a section featuring toys and balloons for next year’s fair to attract more children and teenagers, in addition to her regular products, which include candied hawthorn. She added that she felt the effect of Hong Kong residents travelling and spending money in Shenzhen, and consequently remained uncertain about the business outlook for the coming edition although she hoped it would be better than this year’s fair. Doris Wu, a vendor in her 30s, said she felt greater pressure this year “because I spent HK$5,000 more in bidding for the spot”. She spent around HK$15,000 for a stall in the middle as corner locations usually attracted higher bidding prices. She decided to bid again this year because she made a profit at this year’s edition, when she spent only around HK$10,000 for a similar position. Eddie Wong, in his 20s, said he had followed the auctions over the past two days and had anticipated that prices would be higher this year. “It was our first year taking part in the bidding, so it is a learning experience for us,” said Wong, who has yet worked out a detailed plan for what to sell. The first two days attracted more than a thousand spectators and participants to the bidding process in Lai Chi Kok, according to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. The highest bid for a food stall on the first day was HK$230,000, a 26 per cent increase from last year’s HK$182,000 and a 4.5 per cent rise from HK$220,000 two years ago. The average bid price for wet goods stalls was HK$23,910, with successful bids ranging from HK$6,530 to HK$71,000. The top bid was about 11 times higher than the opening price of HK$6,530. The auction of wet goods stalls brought in HK$4.3 million, compared with HK$3.56 million last year. The average bid price for regular-sized dry goods stalls on Wednesday was HK$17,541, while large-sized dry goods stalls averaged HK$22,561. On Thursday, prices ranged between HK$13,500 and HK$35,000 for the final 78 dry goods stalls in Victoria Park. Other fair venues include Tat Tung Road Garden in Tung Chung, two sites in Sham Shui Po, Kwun Tong Recreation Ground, and To Kwa Wan Recreation Ground. However, some small business owners left the auction empty handed. At least four people who spoke to the Post, including some long-time participants, said the final stall prices for the 2026 fair were beyond their budgets. Phoebe Ng, in her 50s, said she secured a stall at the base price last year and hoped to try her luck again this year. “I am only interested in Victoria Park because it attracts more tourists who are willing to spend,” said Ng, who has run a bracelet and crystal business for around 10 years. “But it is very unlikely this will happen. How can stalls in the least favourable locations still cost around HK$15,000?”
