HAIKOU /China/, February 16. /TASS/. The sales volume of 10 duty-free stores in the southern Chinese province of Hainan reached 9.954 billion yuan (about $1.57 billion) in this year's first one and a half months, up 70% year-on-year. This was reported by the Hainan International Communication Network (HICN).
From January 1 to February 13, stores served a total of 1.61 million customers, an increase of 68% compared to the same period last year, according to the report. The number of sold goods was 9.6 million, an increase of 89% year on year.
The duty-free store development pilot program in China's Hainan province was launched by the PRC government in 2011. Since July 1, 2020 the provincial authorities have increased the quota per person for duty-free purchases from 30 thousand to 100 thousand yuan (from $4,2 thousand to $14,2 thousand). The list of categories of duty-free goods was also expanded from 38 to 45 items.
Three new duty-free stores opened in Hainan in 2021, their total number increased to 10. Last year, Hainan duty free stores earned 60.2 billion yuan (about $ 9.4 billion), an increase of 84% compared with 2020.