Many young parents in the Chinese mainland have gotten used to buying their baby formula from tax-dodging online purchase agencies in Hong Kong. But the new purchase restriction has starved many such businesses of their supply. And those that still have products have pushed up their prices. Some parents are still choosing to swallow the price hike. Yet others seems to have resumed confidence in dairy made in China.

With a 3-year-old child, Ms. Yu is determined to feed her baby imported formula, even if she has to pay more.

She's not alone. Figures from Taobao, China's e-commerce giant, show that in the past week, searches for "Hong Kong baby formula" have risen by over 80 percent compared to last month. And many Hong Kong baby formula purchase agencies have gone out of stock.

Yet, not everyone is so pessimistic about the products made in China.

Mr. Xu, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, said:"The quality of China's baby formula is getting better. Why is it a must to buy imported baby formula? It is expensive and not necessarily better than those made in China. Why must we buy foreign-made goods? "

Mr. Xue, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, said:"Many of my relatives are choosing Chinese-made baby formula. It's fine now, isn't it? I trust it, but it's ok that others don't."

A foreign brand may not guarantee perfect quality. Earlier in February, China's quality supervision authorities found baby formula imported from New Zealand tainted by a bacteria that may cause serious health problems for young children.

Shi Min, supermarket manager, said:"After the dairy scandals a few year ago, quality control in the industry has been tightened. Products have been carefully examined before hitting the market. And the imported products are not examined. So they are not necessarily good."

Yet restoring China's dairy industry's ruined reputation may take a little longer, as more dairy scandals have appeared as recently as last week in China.

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