East China's Jiangsu Province saw dairy products imports almost quadruple year-on-year in the first five months, due to a recovery in consumption and the price advantage of imports.

Provincial Customs said Tuesday that Jiangsu bought 1,537 tonnes of dairy products from abroad from January to May, up 370 percent from the same period last year.

The imports were valued at US$4.28 million, up 590 percent, with the average price up 45.8 percent to 2,785 dollars per tonne.

The total arrivals included 556.9 tonnes from New Zealand, up more than 900 percent, and 392.2 tonnes from Australia, up 290 percent.

A Customs spokesman attributed the growth to lack of confidence in domestic products after the tainted milk scandal in September 2008 and comparatively lower prices of imports. Import products averaged out at 16,000 yuan (US$2,346) per tonne, while domestic products cost an average 25,000 yuan per tonne.

(Xinhua News Agency June 23, 2010)