There is a big difference in price between buying local food/groceries and buying the stuff that is imported here for westerners.
There are plenty of places to buy local and, at least in certain communities, also plenty of spots to buy items imported from Europe or Australia or North America. You will find almost everything you might miss from back home. They have the cereals, frozen goods, ice cream, chips, etc that I would see on the shelves back in Canada. These items generally sell at a premium for two reasons. One, they are imported from overseas and, two, because they can. These western food filled grocery stores do very well out here despite charging 2-3 times the price you would find for those exact same goods out West.
It seems the most inflated prices, though, are associated with Canadian Maple Syrup. Here's a few examples of what I've found. To put things in perspective, a quick search on the Walmart site found a household brand of Maple Syrup to be about $7.50 for 375ml.
First off is Hampton House, a bargain brand. This kind of syrup
back home that would generally be fed to the dogs. In Beijing, however, this 250ml bottle of syrup is selling for 72 Chinese Yuan. That converts roughly to $12.50 CAD. For my American followers it would be about the same in USD, ~ $11.50.
Next up is 'Camp' brand with the Maple Leaf seal of approval sticker on the top. This is a mid-range Maple Syrup that we would typically bring out for guests that we put up with but don't actually like very much. It's decent for pancakes, toast, eggs, a small dollop in your morning coffee, or possibly a nice post-meal digestif. Here it sells for a whopping 164 Yuan, $28 CAD.
At this point you might think it's safe to assume that syrup in general is expensive here and that there's nothing special about it being Canadian Maple Syrup. You probably think I'm biased and just playing up my patriotism. So, to be fair, here is an Australian maple syrup to compare. It's still a bit pricey at 36 Yuan, about $6 CAD which is less than the generic syrup from Walmart. A respectable attempt by our Aussie mates but best you just keep to your Vegemite and meat pies.
The Canadian brands are top shelf out here in China and no other country can match us, that much is clear. Yesterday, however, while I was shopping for a few groceries I came across the Rolls Royce of Canadian Maple Syrups. This is a syrup you give to your best friend as a wedding gift, or toast your kids on the day of their University Graduation (depending on what they took...this ain't no History or Lib Arts Syrup).
The brand is Cleary's and just one look at it can reduce a lumberjack to tears. For a mere 332 Yuan..or
$58 CAD you can take this perfectly aged Sirop d'Erable home with you.
In all seriousness though, these prices are ridiculous. I am definitely planning on bringing multiple bottles back from Canada to China on my next trip home and become a Maple Syrup Tycoon.
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