Following the tainted formula scandal in China, stores in New York’s Chinatown area saw a sharp increase in formula sales. Some of the stores were completely sold out. Most of the customers are immigrants who have sent it to babies back in their hometown in China. Those parents rushed to the stores right away and bought one to two years worth of supplies to be mailed back to China. Some customers were asked by friends and families from mainland China to buy formula for them.
Online formula sales also jumped. Chinese websites in New York City area received a number of postings from the parents in China who were seeking channels to buy infant formula from the US.
Source: Ming Pao, September 18, 2008
http://www.mingpaony.com/htm/News/20080917/nb0101.htm