As a long-time China-watcher, I would be reluctant to make any predictions based on this article on price reductions. In this increasingly consumerist society, expensive *imported* powdered infant formula (PIF) is highly sought after and something of a status symbol. In addition, there is still suspicion of local products because of the scandal of the additive that affected many babies a few years ago.  Parents who can't afford the high-status imported product may turn to locally made products with foreign brands, not necessarily the cheapest. Buyers of these won't necessarily be switching from the products expensively sent in by friends in Australia and New Zealand, although some may.  Obviously some mothers who will buy the locally-made cheaper brands with Western names will have switched from breastfeeding - as happens in other countries when commenrcial products are in the news.

I've mentioned before that, earlier this year, Australian supermarkets had to restrict numbers of cans per customer because of the high demand for one brand for sending to China,  (Let's call it "Brand X".}  Only this week I again saw two people packing large cans of Brand X into boxes at the post office, to send to a Chinese address.  Brand X is an expensive one and cams of PIF are very heavy to pack and send. So the postal costs would be substantial, on top of the retail price of the cans. The factory in Australia that makes Brand X has, I understand, increased production to meet the demand. My impression (though I've no evidence) that the run on this brand has boosted local sales, too.

Until human milk becomes a status symbol, the trend towards buying more expensive brands of PIF is going to continue - in any country. (I'm sure Nina Berry can add comments to that.)

Virginia

Dr Virginia Thorley, OAM, PhD, IBCLC, FILCA
Brisbane, QLD, Australia


Date:    Fri, 5 Jul 2013 12:06:14 -0600
From:    Marguerite Herman <>
Subject: 
Just saw this in the New York Times about formula price fixing in China. Is
anyone suggesting that the alternative is increasing breastfeeding rates?
(Although that would mean no corporate profits for anyone.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/05/business/global/2-companies-to-cut-price-of-infant-formula-after-chinese-inquiry.html?src=un&feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjson8.nytimes.com%2Fpages%2Fhealth%2Findex.jsonp

Marguerite Herman, Wyoming, USA

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