China craves foreign goods; students in Australia supply them

Melbourne

ZHANG Yuan's business started with favours for relatives: an aunt who wanted baby formula, a cousin looking for Ugg boots. She was a college student in Australia and every dollar helped, so she mailed the items back to China and charged a bit of a commission.

But then, through word-of-mouth, her business just kept growing. Between classes, she would shop for whatever was popular that week: vitamins, brand-name jewellery, a fake erectile dysfunction drug called Kangaroo Essence. And when she could not find a more lucrative job after graduation, she stayed in Melbourne and in the booming grey market for selling Australian goods to Chinese consumers.