Chinese in UK get in milk powder reselling business  

英国华商自曝每周从超市购入5000磅奶粉贩至中国

据BBC英伦网报道，英国一位不愿透露姓名的华商近日在接受媒体访问时坦承，他平均每周向中国贩卖约5000英镑左右的从英国超市购得的婴儿奶粉。

(CNS) -- A Chinese businessman in the UK, who asked not to be named, admitted reselling baby formula milk powder worth up to ￡5,000 a week, purchased from local supermarkets, according to BBC's Chinese website.

In an interview with Sky News, the man revealed that he did his business through Taobao, the biggest online retail platform in China.

"I bought the milk powder for ￡7 to ￡9.5 (70-95 yuan) per can and sold them at ￡16.5 to ￡19.5 (165-195 yuan)."

He said that there were three types of people who engage in the reselling business: overseas students and visitors who buy in small numbers and then resell them after returning to China, small and medium businesses like himself, and those who buy in large bulk from reliable suppliers and resell them. The last group often receives orders worth over ￡20,000 each.

There are signs that the expanding reselling business is putting tremendous pressure on supermarkets in the UK, forcing them to impose rationing on milk powder purchases.

The rationing policy also prompted him to buy milk powder from more distant supermarkets, which adds to his cost of doing business. But he said his business is still running.

In the meantime, some British mothers are beginning to see milk powder shortages in local markets, causing worries about the milk powder supply for their infants in the future.

Due to a lack of trust in China's food security system, a growing number of middle class families in China have already started buying milk powder directly from overseas.

Markets off the Chinese mainland such as Hong Kong have already experienced huge pressures as large numbers of worried young parents go to great lengths to get their hands on imported milk, causing retailers in Australia and New Zealand to ration sales starting this year.

Now it seems that the growing Chinese demand is beginning to have an impact on the European market.

Amid worries of a growing Chinese demand in the UK, a spokeswoman for netmums.com, a website representing the rights of British mothers, accused manufacturers of deliberately "causing panic".

One company, Danone (UK), stated that the milk powder buying spree will not affect supplies in the UK market, saying that their products are sold in British markets only.