Supermarkets as far afield as the UK and Australia have been forced to ration infant formula due to rampant Chinese demand for foreign-made baby milk.
Mainland Chinese buyers have been snapping up cans of formula across the globe following a string of safety scandals in the domestic market, starting with the melamine-spiked milk of 2008 that killed six babies and left 300,000 sick.
Voracious demand for overseas-manufactured formula – Chinese babies are expected to slurp their way through $14.5bn worth of milk powder this year – has prompted smuggling rings and entrepreneurial escapades: cans are available online for Rmb150-Rmb200 ($24-$32).