A piece of candy substitutes for 0.1 yuan in Jiayou Supermarket in Liquan county, Xianyang city in Northwest China's Shaanxi province.

Miss Song, a customer at Jiayou Supermarket, paid her grocery bill of 9.9 yuan with a 10 yuan note. Instead of receiving 0.1 yuan she was given a piece of candy as change. ,

Song was told by the salesman that the store had a shortage in change and she could reuse the candy as 0.1 yuan the next time she visited.

Mr. Jin, an executive at Jiayou Supermarket, explained that the candy substitution policy has been implemented for a year now.

"We cannot come up with a better idea. 0.1 yuan coins are always in shortage due to the large customer flow. We exchange 2000 yuan in change from banks every month. We even ask for change from vendors to meet the demands. But it's still in shortage. Thus, we use candy as substitution. In fact, a candy is worth more than 0.1 yuan," said Mr. Jin.

Some customers reuse the candy as money when they return to the supermarket but most people eat it immediately or discard it. Many forget it with time.

Also, there is no indication of shelf life on the reused confectionary, which poses a health risk for people accidentally consuming expired candy.

Mr. Jin expressed that he would discuss the problem with the board and will endeavor to establish a long-term exchange relationship with local banks to solve the issue of change shortages.

Scarcity in lower currencies is a common problem for county supermarkets.