The Chinese Suppliers Who Make Discount Retailing Possible in the UK

"We have no idea where these products will go" says one of the production line workers at a factory in China operated by Zhejiang Hongyu Medical Commodity Co. Ltd

Thousands of miles away, the final destination for those products are the shelves of retailers in developed economies, particularly the discount and/or single-price retailers who have enjoyed such rapid growth in recent years.

In this fascinating article, Tom Phillips reports for the Telegraph from Yiwu - a landlocked trade hub in China's eastern Zhejiang province - which conducts over £5bn of trade exporting low-cost consumer products around the globe. The article is a real eye-opener.

There are some great quotes from UK "entrepreneurs" who make regular trips to Yiwu to source products for their wholesale and retail activities in the UK. For example:

"The quality used to be no good and the prices would be very cheap. Now the quality is acceptable and the price is still very cheap," added Mr Cohen, who said he generally spent around £200,000 per trip. "Customers in the UK want it cheap. Everybody wants the retail stuff under £5."