2018年CRI Consumption upgrades inside a "shopping basket"

 

With salaries going up across China, and the Belt and Road increasing access to Europe and beyond, more and more Chinese consumers are turning to imported goods at supermarkets.

The Sanyuanli Market, located next to the embassy district in Chaoyang District of Beijing, is one of the supermarkets across the Chinese capital which are stocking their shelves with more and more foreign groceries.

With the development of rail technology, fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, aquatic¹ products and even condiments² from Europe and beyond are now becoming more readily available in China.

The Sanyuanli market is a popular draw for Beijing's middle class.

"There are more varieties here. My family love seafood³, and we also live near here," says a consumer surnamed Cheng.

Many of the small-scale retailers⁴ in Sanyuanli are also moving toward selling more imported products, such as seafood.

"We sell mantis⁵ shrimps⁶ from Thailand, king crabs⁷ from the United States and Russia, as well as lobsters⁸ from Canada. We also have other varieties of lobsters and crabs from France, Britain and Japan," says a vendor⁹ surnamed Zhang, who owns a seafood store inside the market.

Apart from aquatic products, fruit is also a popular item at Sanyuanli among the more discerning shoppers at Sanyuanli.

The Market provides hard-to-find fruits such as American blood oranges, Chilean cherries, Mexican avocados and Japanese peaches, which provides more options, and ultimately, more money to vendors¹⁰.

"In the past, the sales volumes of imported fruit used to be relatively¹¹ lower, since they were not as acceptable to consumers as they are today. Domestic varieties used to account for a larger proportion of the fruits on sale, but now, more and more imported varieties have become increasingly popular among consumers," says a vendor surnamed Tian who sells fruit.

A recent survey conducted by China's Ministry¹² of Commerce shows 86.6% of Chinese consumers with a monthly household income of more than 20,000 yuan, or over 3100 U.S. dollars, have either bought imported goods over the past year, or are planning to buy imported products this year.

Surveys have found the most popular imported products in China are food, clothing, shoes and cosmetics¹³.

Gao Feng, spokesperson with the Ministry of Commerce, says steps are being taken to ensure people in China have more and more access to products from abroad.

"China is actively¹⁴ working on upgrading its industrial structure, and the consumers are looking forward to living a better life. China is willing to expand imports from countries all over the world, and also welcomes foreign enterprises to do business in China," says Gao.

Imports to China are up by 11.5% in the first half of this year. 

Beyond imports of commodities such as oil, natural gas and copper¹⁵, figures from China's General Administration of Customs show imports of aquatic products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals¹⁶ and medical supplies are also on the rise.

1 aquatic   

adj.水生的，水栖的

参考例句：

• Aquatic sports include swimming and rowing.水上运动包括游泳和划船。
• We visited an aquatic city in Italy.我们在意大利访问过一个水上城市。

2 condiments   

n.调味品

参考例句：

• Refill and clean all salt and peppers, sugar bowls, and other condiments. 清洁并续满所有的胡椒瓶、盐瓶、糖缸及其他调料。
• Go easy on condiments, they tend to be salty. 别放太多调味品，这样往往会太咸。

3 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

4 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

5 mantis   

n.螳螂

参考例句：

• Praying mantis has two powerful claws like sharp knives.螳螂有一对强壮的爪子，它们像锋利的刀。
• In her mind,it was a female mantis,devouring her mates.她的意识中，是一只雌螳螂正吞咽她的配偶。

6 shrimps   

n.虾，小虾( shrimp的名词复数 )；矮小的人

参考例句：

• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood. 小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I'm going to have shrimps for my tea. 傍晚的便餐我要吃点虾。 来自辞典例句

7 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 lobsters   

龙虾( lobster的名词复数 )； 龙虾肉

参考例句：

• I have no idea about how to prepare those cuttlefish and lobsters. 我对如何烹调那些乌贼和龙虾毫无概念。
• She sold me a couple of live lobsters. 她卖了几只活龙虾给我。

9 vendor   

n.卖主；小贩

参考例句：

• She looked at the vendor who cheated her the other day with distaste.她厌恶地望着那个前几天曾经欺骗过她的小贩。
• He must inform the vendor immediately.他必须立即通知卖方。

10 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

11 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

12 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

13 cosmetics   

n.化妆品

参考例句：

• We sell a wide range of cosmetics at a very reasonable price. 我们以公道的价格出售各种化妆品。
• Cosmetics do not always cover up the deficiencies of nature. 化妆品未能掩饰天生的缺陷。

14 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

15 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

16 pharmaceuticals   

n.医药品；药物( pharmaceutical的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the development of new pharmaceuticals 新药的开发
• The companies are pouring trillions of yen into biotechnology research,especially for pharmaceuticals and new seeds. 这些公司将大量资金投入生物工艺学研究，尤其是药品和新种子方面。 来自《简明英汉词典》