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They also are responsible for a shortage of baby milk powder and baby food from Germany, the Chinese buying all markets empty. At least that was in the news a f
by NiklasMort 9y ago
They also are responsible for a shortage of baby milk powder and baby food from Germany, the Chinese buying all markets empty. At least that was in the news a few years ago
- petecox 9y agoAustralia now too.
- Cthulhu_ 9y agoMore like an opportunity for Europe to earn a lot of money once they manage to increase production. There's still a lot of wealth inequality, both inside countries (e.g. the UK) and in Europe itself (the former DDR is a good example).
- amelius 9y agoBut what if the Chinese copy your product right after you have scaled up production?
- derda 9y agoIn case of baby milk powder the alternatives exist on the Chinese market. Even german brands are present in Chinese supermarkets. But after some high profile cases regarding low quality products[0], some people are willing to pay a decent premium for a product sourced from a European supermarket. On the height of this crisis I have actually seen signs "max 2 packets per person" for baby milk in german supermarkets close to train stations / airports. I actually met someone who financed a trip to China by maxing out his baggage allowance with baby milk. [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chinese_milk_scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chinese_milk_scandal
- amelius 9y agoYes, I've also heard about cases where supermarket personnel deliberately mutate the packaging (e.g. by scratching) to make the milk unsuitable for sale on the Chinese market.
- WillReplyfFood 9y agoBasically people are paying a premium for the service of a bureaucratic but well working state with a food controll system. Its allmost like taxes.
- andrewksl 9y agoI believe the Chinese buy these types of imported goods (if not all imported goods in general) because of a perception that they are of a certain level of quality. The "disruption" would not be copying an innovation so much as building branding of a Chinese alternative. For most cases, it would involve changing the widely held belief that Chinese products are inferior. That kind of brings that Chinese caviar company to mind. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-19/the-world-s-best-caviar-doesn-t-come-from-russia-anymore https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-19/the-world...
- amelius 9y agoOkay, but what if a Chinese milk company decides to find an international reseller (with its own QA lab)? I imagine that a lot of "western" milk products already contain Chinese raw materials (e.g. mineral/vitamin supplements), so in a sense it would not be a very new thing.
- seanmcdirmid 9y agoYou can’t trust the supply chain in china. Even if you do everything right, someone will create a fake product using your brand if you are successful. Supermarkets will then use the fake product because it is cheaper, and consumers get screwed. For babies, bad milk powder can be horrible, many parents won’t take the risk and will prefer what they can get via a verified supply chain, the only choice they have right now is buying abroad.
- yardie 9y agoThey’re is an import quota on formula. You can import a small amount for a few days use. Anything greater is regarded as smuggling.
- seanmcdirmid 9y agoThat isn’t true. You can import much more than a few days, especially the way milk powder is concentrated. You aren’t supposed to import for multiple babies, but the Chinese customs agents aren’t going to bat their eye at a suitcase full of milk powder packages.
- yardie 9y agoWhat is the upper limit. 1 suitcase, 10 suitcases, a shipping container?
- seanmcdirmid 9y agoShipping containers go through real customs obviously. Suitcases just go through the x ray machine on the way out from baggage claim. If you have milk powder in half or even all your suits see, they aren’t going to care much. If it’s a suitcase full of iPhones, well, that’s another story.