Chinese Parents, Fearing Contamination, Turn To Australia For Infant Formula

Investors in Australian baby formula manufacturers are licking their chops as they contemplate a profitable future, thanks to surging demand from China. The demand has created an underground market in Australia, where stores have begun to ration formula to prevent supplies from being shipped to Chinese cities and sold at triple the original retail price. Demand for Western-produced formula has risen since the rescinding of China’s one-baby per family rule and a rise in infant food contamination outbreaks. China has strict milk safety rules, but Chinese parents apparently don’t trust the government to enforce them.