Ching Ming Festival tip: Go for paper Apple Watch and iPhone 7

Even as the Ching Ming Festival or Tomb Sweeping Day (April 5) draws near, prices of incense and paper offerings are expected to stay unchanged because of the cheaper renminbi.

But those who plan to buy roast suckling pigs or live chickens to worship their ancestors had better prepare for a bigger budget, according to Ming Pao Daily.

Electronic gadgets, including the yet-to-be-launched-in-real-life iPhone 7, massage chairs (HK$68 each) and French macaroons (7 pieces for HK$28) -- all paper varieties-- are among the hit items on the shelves of worship goods shops this year. A set of consisting of a paper Apple Watch and a paper iPhone 6, with a "charger" and a "battery" included, will set you back by HK$48.

A set of paper McDonald's Happy Meal is priced at HK$28 while a "home return permit" for ancestors who go on holiday costs HK$18 each.

Prices of such goods are basically the same as last year as most of them are made in China where the weaker renminbi cancels out the additional import costs, a retail shop owner was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, the wholesale price of live chicken stood at HK$42.5 per 600 grams, and HK$60-HK$70 for retail, the highest since 2008, according to data from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department.

Prices are higher now because of the import ban on live chickens from the mainland, and prices could get even rise by another HK$5 as the holiday draws near, said an officer of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Poultry Dealers and Workers Association.

-- Contact us at [email protected]

TL/AC/CG