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China's Hainan posts surging duty-free sales as offshore duty-free policy kicks in
Updated 21:53, 03-Jul-2021
CGTN
A duty-free shop in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 27, 2020. /CFP

A duty-free shop in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 27, 2020. /CFP

Sales of offshore duty-free commodities in south China's island province of Hainan skyrocketed by 226 percent year on year to reach 46.8 billion yuan (about $7.2 billion) since July 1 last year, customs data showed. 

According to Haikou Customs, Hainan's offshore duty-free shops received roughly 19,000 customers and sold products worth 128 million yuan per day in the interim, up 102 percent and 227 percent year on year, respectively. 

The top three goods in terms of sales volume were cosmetics, watches and jewelry, accounting for 71.5 percent of the total duty-free sales in the same period. 

Starting July 1, 2020, Hainan has increased its annual tax-free shopping quota from 30,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan per person each year. 

The range of duty-free goods has also expanded from 38 categories to 45, while the previous tax-free limit of 8,000 yuan for a single product has been lifted.  

In June 2020, China released a master plan for the Hainan free port to build the southern island province into a globally influential duty-free trading center by the middle of the century. 

(With input from Xinhua)

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