A pharmacy in Melbourne`s CBD has come under fire for allowing dozens of Chinese consumers to buy baby formula before it goes on shelves.
The drugstore, My Chemist, on the corner of (Elizabeth St) and Flinders Lane in Melbourne`s Elizabeth Street, has up to three days a week, and before dawn, a large crowd of underworld customers lined up at the store`s door. As soon as the store door opened, they rushed in to buy baby formula.
The Herald Sun arrived at the pharmacy at 7 a. M. on two different days last week and found as many as 20 customers pushing long queues of shopping carts.
When the staff opened at 07:30, the group quickly picked up boxes of baby formula, including the popular Aptamil and A2 brands. The clerk didn`t even have time to unpack the case and put it on the shelf.
When the Herald Sun entered the store last week, many customers hid their faces and tried to hide.
Local residents say the frenzied deal has been going on for months, but in recent weeks it has become more and more exaggerated.
A nearby resident named Paul (Paul), who declined to give his last name, said he would see the gang line up in front of the pharmacy every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning and said he was "disgusted" by the practice.
"I`ve been living in this area for many years, and it makes me sad that businesses allow people who don`t have children to make a profit at the expense of Australian mothers and mothers," he said.
In Australia, a can of baby formula costs about $20, but can be resold to mainland China for more than double the price. In recent years, large purchases of infant formula have been sold to China, leading to a milk shortage in Australia.
Many Coles and Woolworths supermarkets are limited to buying two cans, and others simply lock milk powder in cabinets.
My Chemist`s manager confirmed that the store can only buy up to six cans of milk powder at a time, and that there are signs in English and Chinese all over the store.
Another My Chemist pharmacy, 200m away, requires a maximum of four cans of milk powder at a time.
In addition, the store near Bourke St also has "packing and shipping" services, and there are many milk powder cans piled on the counter.
According to the newly established Australian China purchasing association (Australia China Daigou Association), the market value of purchasing agents is about 850 million yuan.
