Bargains from abroad

Sharp-eyed shoppers have to be quick to snap up bargains. Photo: Yang Hui/GT

A shopper carefully checks packaging at the direct sales center. Photo: Yang Hui/GT

Sharp-eyed shoppers swarm into the free trade zone store

The direct sales center in the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone has been open for more than six months but only recently have bargain-hunting shoppers cottoned on to the fact that this is the place for cheap imported goods. Nowadays there are 100-meter queues of shoppers waiting in line before the doors open.

According to a Youth Daily report, even with duty included, prices on imported products are much cheaper than anywhere else in the city - the center doesn't have to pay for transportation or distribution. Imported seafood, meat and fruit are popular. Doors open at 10 am but by 7 am on last Monday some determined shoppers were already in line.

A woman surnamed He, who lives in the Kangcheng community in Xinzhuang town in Minhang district, said she got up at 3:30 am to arrive at about 5 with three relatives. "We were the first here. Television news reported that lots of people come here early to get the fresh seafood because there are limits. So we set out at 4 am and it took us an hour to drive here."

By 9:30 am, the queue was getting longer and security guards were organizing barriers around the entrance. A security guard explained that they only let in 30 customers at three-minute intervals to keep it orderly.

When the doors opened at 10, the first batch of shoppers swarmed into the store with baskets and trolleys at the ready - many went straight to the seafood and meat counters.

On last Monday one of the hot bargains was frozen Mozambique shrimp which was going for 138 yuan ($22.45) for 2 kilograms - it was sold out within 15 minutes. Mozambique shrimps can be bought online where the price is 118 yuan for 0.8 kilogram. The Youth Daily said city supermarkets did not stock this.

Vietnamese shrimp meat, at 48 yuan per 0.4 kilogram, is the most popular seafood item alongside Chilean king crabs which are prized because of their size.

One young woman at the seafood counter said she was more concerned about the quality of the products rather than the price. "That's why I came here instead of shopping online. It's easier when you can see what you are buying."

At the meat counter several of the shoppers were agreeing with each other that the price of steak from Argentina, at 56 yuan for 0.3 kilogram, was a definite bargain.

In the fresh fruit section, a man surnamed Hou, the father of a 5-year-old girl loaded his trolley with three boxes of kiwi fruit and four boxes of cherries from the US. "I drove here from Putuo district and arrived at 5:30 am to buy my daughter's favorite fruit."

A 500-gram box of US cherries costs about 350 yuan, roughly half the amount it would cost in a city market. Within 20 minutes 10 boxes had been sold.

It seemed obvious that most of the shoppers were attracted by the imported seafood, fruit and meat - many of the aisles stacked with liquor and snack foods were practically empty.