Hong Kong’s hawkers could disappear by 2033 unless rules eased, lawmaker says

Hong Kong should relax hawker licensing rules so assistants who are not family members can take over stalls, a lawmaker and a district councillor have said, as the city recorded an 80 per cent drop since 2000 in the number of itinerant street sellers.

The trade could disappear entirely by 2033, the legislator warned on Wednesday.

The plea came after research by the Legislative Council found the number of fixed-pitch hawkers had decreased by 40 per cent since 2000 to 4,848 in 2024, while itinerant street sellers fell by 80 per cent over the same period to just 233.

“I feel that it is a big pity that the number of fixed-pitch hawkers and itinerant hawkers has dropped by a lot ... We also have an ageing problem, with 90 per cent of itinerant hawkers over 60 years old,” lawmaker Doreen Kong Yuk-foon said on Wednesday.

“Based on these figures, particularly those for itinerant hawkers, there is a chance that the sector could disappear by 2033.”

Kong said authorities should consider opening up succession rules to help the industry to survive, noting that other places such as Taiwan and Singapore had adopted a more relaxed approach to licensing.

Hong Kong allows fixed-pitch hawkers to transfer their permits to their spouse, children or parents, but itinerant ones cannot and must give up the licence if they choose to stop operating.

Kong said she supported authorities easing rules to allow hawkers’ assistants to apply for licences that had been surrendered or cancelled, and to give them priority based on their seniority.

“You have to learn how to be a hawker; you cannot just head down the street and become one,” she said.

“According to the Legco study, there were some 4,000 fixed-pitch hawkers in 2024, while some 4,000 people worked as their assistants. So if these assistants already have this experience, and if they are willing to do it, I think it is only logical to give them priority.”

In a reply to the Post, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said that it had to balance the expectations of stakeholders and ensure the hygiene, food safety and concerns of residents.

The department added it took into consideration existing policies and the grounds of each application for licence renewal before making a final decision.

Authorities will review and improve existing policy that allows applications for vacant hawking spaces at designated locations, according to the department.

Yau Tsim Mong district councillor Wong Kin-san echoed Kong’s call, having handled cases involving hawker assistants who wanted to take over at their stalls but were not permitted to do so because they were not immediate family of the licence owners.

He said this group of people had previously pressed their cases with different departments, hoping they could be handled with discretion. But their appeals were ultimately rejected because of set rules.

Wong said he was “surprised” to see the stark decrease in licensed hawkers in the city.

“This is a very big shock to us; it also makes us very worried,” he said. “We wonder what the future development of the hawker sector will look like.”

Wong noted that hawkers faced multiple difficulties, including the rising cost of living, the unpredictability of when they could operate outdoors and stiff competition from online shopping platforms and other retail operators.

It was also difficult attracting young people to take up the licences, he said.

Speaking to the Post, Kong said she believed that the city’s hawkers could be seen as a Hong Kong tourist attraction, noting many places in Europe had street markets as well.

The lawmaker said beyond adjusting licence rules to ensure the survival of the city’s hawkers, authorities should also offer them support measures such as getting good locations and better-looking stalls.

She added that some management of the quality of the hawkers was needed, such as ensuring they do not sell counterfeit goods or products that could be bought online.