Why Fruits and Veggies Are So Cheap in Chinatown
I lived on henry street for a while, and I can't say that I know anything about the back end of the distribution network, but I can say this article is missing a lot of things about the front end.  The produce <i>is</i> cheaper than a standard western store, but the quality is much more varied.  Moreover, the market (in the economic sense) seems really efficient.   If you see something cheap in Manhattan chinatown in every store, it might be a really good deal, and just that thing is in season or a lot of it was just delivered.  But if something is cheap in just one store, it is probably in bad shape.  Stores are willing to sell produce that simply wouldn't be sold in ordinary western stores; and do things I think wouldn't be allowed elsewhere.  For example, I have seen one place where if they have baskets of strawberries, and some of the strawberries are getting moldy, they will by hand separate out the non moldy ones, toss the moldy ones, and repackage the baskets.     Moreover, the stores don't bother to keep clean at all, you can smell them from a block away.  If you like food shopping, and you pay attention, its great, but if you want to just get your food, it is a lot of work.  I think most americans do not want this kind of tradeoff.