Confessions of a 'milkman'

By Bai Ping (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-05 10:21

Confessions of a 'milkman'
Selecting the right baby formula is one major concern for Chinese mothers.[China Daily/Wu Changqing]

I've never been a milkman in my life. But like many anxious parents in Chinese cities, I regularly take the famous Milk Route to buy overseas milk powder brands for my child, after the tainted baby formula scandal rocked China late last year.

The Milk Route refers to the rail line linking the southern city of Shenzhen and Hong Kong. A variety of foreign baby milk powder brands are sold at pharmacies and supermarkets along the line.

Since our son was born earlier this year, my wife and I have been feeding him with a certain well-known foreign baby formula at a friend's suggestion. We have asked our friends to buy the powder in Hong Kong and courier it to us by China Post from Shenzhen because it is cheaper and easier to track from Beijing. The brand costs several times the price it does overseas and sells very fast at Beijing's supermarkets.

However, our son is now consuming four tins a month and we've used up all our social capital.

So now I am forced to fly regularly to Hong Kong to get the baby formula. Although mainland buyers are no longer restricted to a couple of tins to ensure supplies for local mothers, as it was the case during the panic buying after the scandal broke out, customs has a limit of six tins, or a total worth of 1,000 yuan, whichever comes first.

In my desperation, I've made more than one trip between Shenzhen and Hong Kong each time. Milk powder smugglers make many more trips every day and can be scolded or fined if they're found to have engaged in trafficking. My luggage has never been searched at customs after it goes through the X-ray machine, but this doesn't make me feel happy or proud. It's still a humiliating experience.

It's likely most Chinese dads and moms have had their confidence in domestic baby milk powder products buoyed by recent government moves to close down or reshuffle the dairy firms embroiled in the contaminated milk scandal. But many haven't.

It's difficult to change a consumer's attitude once it's formed. Suspicious parents still have low levels of trust in the claims that some local brands make about their product safety.

Unfortunately, some local brands eager to regain people's confidence are still providing ambiguous information that seems to be reinforcing negative attitudes.

Local media recently reported that a baby milk brand from neighboring Hebei province is now available in supermarkets in suburban areas in Beijing. What's unusual about it is that the baby formula is manufactured on the same production lines as the now-defunct Sanlu group, the firm at the center of the tainted milk scandal.

I believe the born-again dairy firm with new management is now capable of producing safe baby formula.

But I also wonder why its marketing campaign should have started with rural people in the outlaying areas of the city. Is it because they are less sophisticated and discerning than city residents? I don't know. I believe if they have a choice, no parent would allow their child to eat food in which they lack complete confidence.

My wife and I have decided I will continue my weekend trips to Hong Kong until we are absolutely sure about the safety of domestic brands.

But the thing is, by then, our son may no longer need baby formula.