Industry representative says price of industrial diesel has increased by over 190 per cent in just over a month
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenWynna WongPublished: 3:26pm, 6 Apr 2026Updated: 3:30pm, 6 Apr 2026Surging oil prices are driving up costs for Hong Kong’s laundry sector, with the tripling of fuel prices forcing some operators to turn down new orders and freeze hiring.
An industry representative said on Monday that the price of industrial diesel, commonly known as “red diesel”, had surged from about HK$6 (80 US cents) per litre in late February to as high as HK$17.50 in early April – an increase of more than 190 per cent in just over a month.
The sharp rise has significantly raised operating costs for laundry businesses, which rely heavily on diesel-powered boilers to generate steam for high-temperature washing and sterilisation, particularly for hospital linens and hotel laundry.
“This is something we have never seen before, and I have been in the industry for 20 years,” Dragon Kong Yuen-lung of the Hong Kong Laundry Services Association told a radio show, highlighting that local prices had not risen as steeply in past oil crises.
“Even during the Russia-Ukraine war a few years ago, international oil prices were around US$143, and industrial diesel was about HK$10.50 per litre.
“Now, international oil prices are only just over US$110, yet it has risen to HK$17.50 – this is something we have never seen before.”
Kong said spending on diesel typically accounted for 10 to 20 per cent of production costs, but had now risen to as high as 60 per cent.
