Can I bring Spices and Dried Herbs to Hong Kong?
Spices and Dried Herbs→Hong Kong
✅ Allowed
📋 Carrying Limits
- Quantity Limit:No restriction for personal quantities; no duty
✅ Declaration Requirements
❌Not Required
📌 Quick Summary
🔗 Official Information Source:
Last Updated:August 28, 2026
Reliability:⭐⭐⭐⭐
📝 Important Notes
- •✅ ALLOWED — bring any spice, in any form
- •Hong Kong has no plant-quarantine regime for passengers and no duty on food, so spices, dried herbs, fresh herbs, chillies, curry leaves, saffron and tea all enter freely in personal quantities. This is more relaxed than mainland China, Taiwan, Japan or Australia.
- •Edge cases:
- •Spice blends or bouillon powders containing meat are shelf-stable processed products and are not covered by the meat import regulation
- •Seeds for planting are the one exception: Hong Kong requires a phytosanitary certificate for seeds and live plants (Plant (Importation and Pest Control) Ordinance), and they cannot go onward into the Mainland at all
- •Herbal products marketed as medicine (Chinese proprietary medicines) fall under the Chinese Medicine Ordinance if in commercial quantities
- •Advice: Hong Kong's own spice shops in Sheung Wan and the Indian grocers in Chungking Mansions stock everything from Sichuan peppercorn to garam masala — bringing spices is only worth it for something rare.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Does Spices and Dried Herbs need to be vacuum-sealed for entry?
Vacuum sealing can significantly reduce the risk of confiscation, especially for meat or dried products. Additionally, Spices and Dried Herbs with complete commercial labeling and ingredient lists is more likely to pass inspection.
❓ More Questions
Can I bring fresh curry leaves or lemongrass into Hong Kong?
Yes — unlike the EU, Taiwan or Australia, Hong Kong has no phytosanitary requirement for travellers' fresh herbs. They enter freely. Just don't try to carry them onward into mainland China, where fresh plant material is prohibited.
Are Chinese herbal medicines regulated when I bring them in?
Personal quantities of dried herbs and proprietary Chinese medicines are fine. The Chinese Medicine Ordinance regulates trade and 31 'scheduled' potent herbs (e.g. aconite, ephedra) — carrying a few packs for personal use is not enforced, but commercial quantities need a licence.
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