Imported products fill Chinese consumers' Spring Festival shopping carts

NANNING, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- From Chilean cherries and French wine to Thailand's crispy durian cakes, imported products have diversified Chinese people's shopping carts as the country's most important traditional festival approaches.

Various overseas food products hitting the supermarket shelves have won love from customers across the country, with some becoming best-sellers ahead of the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 1 this year.

Spring Festival is a time family reunions and features festive dishes and diverse celebrations. At a supermarket in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, a type of Polish chocolate wrapped in gift boxes attracted many customers.

"As the Spring Festival is drawing near, many people are coming to buy chocolates and sales have gone up several times more than usual," said a clerk surnamed Pan, who is responsible for promotional sales at the supermarket.

The uptick in sales is expected to last until the upcoming Lantern Festival and Valentine's Day, Pan added.

"Various choices and convenient purchasing experiences have made foreign goods more attractive to Chinese people in recent years," said Chen Yu, a Nanning resident.

The demand for holiday-related goods is also echoed in cross-border E-commerce businesses.

"In recent years, sales volume during the festive season has been increasing continuously, and it is expected to grow by 30 percent this year at our company," said Peng Xueyan, a manager from Guangxi MAYI Imported Goods Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd.

Orders are not only from individual customers but also from groups and companies, with imported beer and wine among the best-selling products, Peng added.

With better living standards and connectivity with other countries, China is bringing the once hard-to-get imported foods to people's everyday dining tables.

Statistics showed that in 2020, China imported food products worth over 100 billion U.S. dollars and the figure is expected to be growing year on year, according to an industry report.

Guangxi is China's gateway to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). According to local railway authorities, transportation capacity will be strengthened to facilitate the import of more featured products from ASEAN and other countries and regions to provide consumers with more choices for Chinese Lunar New Year goods.