This isn't one of those product dumps that you find in the $2 shop, it's made in China for Mars Australia and is standard stock in a major supermarket. Probably made from milk and sugar produced in Australia. Are we really that useless? Seriously???

I don't agree with it and don't know what the solution is (higher import duties etc?) but it is still cheaper otherwise they wouldn't do it.
I think it's plain wrong to ship stuff like this across the globe but welcome to the "global economy"

this seemingly unrelated documentary explains part of it - low transportation cost

Yup, sad. Asahi super dry is imported from PRC too.

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Buster fin said..
Yup, sad. Asahi super dry is imported from PRC too.

what pisses me off that you have to turn the bottle around and squint at the super small print to find out where it came from. I mostly buy either Czech beer (the BEST!) or german. Either are better (IMO) than anything else and in most cases cheaper than Chinese/Thai brewed Asahi or Heineken

Maybe Australia should adopt a rule to clearly state place of origin in a visible place?

Most of your windsurf kit is made in china so is it so bad your chocolate is to?

Well at least now we know where all the baby milk formula that gets snapped up ends up.

Yes, Mars Chocolate bars,... now with added melamine.

All I saw was, servings per pack : 2. get out of here

If the lower costs of production plus the cost of the additional transport are less than the cost of local production then this is what happens. The biggest cost of production is labour.

And your point is..?
Are you saying we should all work for rupiah...?
The price of the product has not come down, the quality and quantity has, the profit made is higher.
So how is it the working persons fault. .?

If that question is aimed at me doctor, I'm not saying we should all work for rupiah. I am saying that if you don't want to buy a Snickers bar made in China then don't buy it and buy from an Australian chocolate producer if you can find one.

It is all of our faults, we demand a cheaper consumer product and the producer demands more profit to pay for the share dividends that we demand. If the business can figure out a way to cut costs and increase profit then they will do so. Why should we vilify a manufacturer if they are simply doing what we demand?

A hypothetical: If Snickers bars were available as Chinese sourced and Australian sourced at a price premium; and clearly marked as such on the shelf at the shop. Would the "average" customer pay more for an Australian one? or say "f@#k it, I'll save a few bucks"? Welcome to globalisation and the problems we bring on ourselves

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Paddles B'mere said..
I am saying that if you don't want to buy a Snickers bar made in China then don't buy it and buy from an Australian chocolate producer if you can find one.

Yep, I put it straight back on the shelf when I saw the 'Made in China' and grabbed a different chocolate. That'll teach 'em!

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Paddles B'mere said..
If that question is aimed at me doctor, I'm not saying we should all work for rupiah. I am saying that if you don't want to buy a Snickers bar made in China then don't buy it and buy from an Australian chocolate producer if you can find one.

It is all of our faults, we demand a cheaper consumer product and the producer demands more profit to pay for the share dividends that we demand. If the business can figure out a way to cut costs and increase profit then they will do so. Why should we vilify a manufacturer if they are simply doing what we demand?

A hypothetical: If Snickers bars were available as Chinese sourced and Australian sourced at a price premium; and clearly marked as such on the shelf at the shop. Would the "average" customer pay more for an Australian one? or say "f@#k it, I'll save a few bucks"? Welcome to globalisation and the problems we bring on ourselves

Agree with what you've said paddles, but thats an interesting hypothetical. Im not sure that consumers would buy the cheaper one if presented with where it came from, not when you're talking about an edible product. A cheap electronic item, yeah, for sure. But aussies like to buy aussie made/grown when it comes to sticking food in their mouths.

Agreed Subsonic, some guys like Harrow will put it back on the shelf for either economic reasons or credibility reasons. But yeah, interesting point, I'd agree that it would be more likely that a consumer would put a Chinese food product back on the shelf over a Chinese consumer electronics item. And that's possibly the new untapped market in China, even they don't trust some of their own food products and are starting to demand Australian produced food.

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Paddles B'mere said..
Would the "average" customer pay more for an Australian one? or say "f@#k it, I'll save a few bucks"? Welcome to globalisation and the problems we bring on ourselves

They'll say this.

If (over here in the west) for example the Perth Bali flights with the low cost Asian carriers. If people choose cost vs safety, they will certainly choose cost over loyalty.

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Subsonic said..

But aussies like to buy aussie made/grown when it comes to sticking food in their mouths.

Tell that to Dick Smith who just recently closed down his Aussie brand. I think people probably shop more by brand then by cost or loyalty. Aussie Might never sold as well as Vegimite.

Chinese got the contract because their dainty little digits are better at placing the peanuts precisely very intricate stuff. Also now the great snicker conveyor belt from szhungwoo to Darwin is operational everybody should be able to eat healthy again.

I don't buy ANY food product produced in China. And with my rapidly failing eyesight I agree that country of manufacture needs to be bolder on labels.

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Toph said..

Subsonic said..

But aussies like to buy aussie made/grown when it comes to sticking food in their mouths.

Tell that to Dick Smith who just recently closed down his Aussie brand. I think people probably shop more by brand then by cost or loyalty. Aussie Might never sold as well as Vegimite.

Yeah, I'll take that, to a degree. I think people get accustomed to the taste they've always known. Having tasted some of the dick smith products, the taste didn't do it for me at all.

If the big brands had to advertise the place of manufacture (not in small print) i wonder how that would go for them. Not well i'd imagine

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Toph said..

Subsonic said..

But aussies like to buy aussie made/grown when it comes to sticking food in their mouths.

Tell that to Dick Smith who just recently closed down his Aussie brand. I think people probably shop more by brand then by cost or loyalty. Aussie Might never sold as well as Vegimite.

The vegemite imitation or all of the Dick Smith foods lines?

I like the cereal that someone produces under his name. I mix it with corn flakes or similar though. It tastes better and given that the shelves seem to be dominated by endless varieties of Special K, at least this has a good texture.

I think there are some people that will choose Australian made products where they can, and then Australian owned. Some people don't care, some people can't afford to care, but normally I will try and choose a product where at least some money stays here.

I love Chinese food, and now its even better.
next time I go to Red Wok I will order spring rolls, special fried rice, chicken chow mein
and a snickers.

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gs12 said..

Buster fin said..
Yup, sad. Asahi super dry is imported from PRC too.

what pisses me off that you have to turn the bottle around and squint at the super small print to find out where it came from. I mostly buy either Czech beer (the BEST!) or german. Either are better (IMO) than anything else and in most cases cheaper than Chinese/Thai brewed Asahi or Heineken

Maybe Australia should adopt a rule to clearly state place of origin in a visible place?

Apparently the czech beer sold at Dan Murphy is not the same they drink in EU..
Mate of mine who lives in EU and a big czech beer fan tried it over here when visiting and said it was too watery...I bought him a slab of Kozel he refused to drink....

he enjoyed boags premium though

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Paddles B'mere said..
If that question is aimed at me doctor, I'm not saying we should all work for rupiah. I am saying that if you don't want to buy a Snickers bar made in China then don't buy it and buy from an Australian chocolate producer if you can find one.

It is all of our faults, we demand a cheaper consumer product and the producer demands more profit to pay for the share dividends that we demand. If the business can figure out a way to cut costs and increase profit then they will do so. Why should we vilify a manufacturer if they are simply doing what we demand?

A hypothetical: If Snickers bars were available as Chinese sourced and Australian sourced at a price premium; and clearly marked as such on the shelf at the shop. Would the "average" customer pay more for an Australian one? or say "f@#k it, I'll save a few bucks"? Welcome to globalisation and the problems we bring on ourselves

It's worth taking the doctors opinion into account on confection products,
hes been packing fudge for years

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dmitri said..

gs12 said..

Buster fin said..
Yup, sad. Asahi super dry is imported from PRC too.

what pisses me off that you have to turn the bottle around and squint at the super small print to find out where it came from. I mostly buy either Czech beer (the BEST!) or german. Either are better (IMO) than anything else and in most cases cheaper than Chinese/Thai brewed Asahi or Heineken

Maybe Australia should adopt a rule to clearly state place of origin in a visible place?

Apparently the czech beer sold at Dan Murphy is not the same they drink in EU..
Mate of mine who lives in EU and a big czech beer fan tried it over here when visiting and said it was too watery...I bought him a slab of Kozel he refused to drink....

he enjoyed boags premium though

Same with Stella Artois
8 pints in the uk and you were brawling at the taxi rank
In Australia you still call a stranger mate after 12
The day the chinks make my fave tipple then we're furkd

Welcome to neoliberalism.

Im more inclined to point the finger at the top 2% rather than China for making a chocolate bar (and everything else pretty much).

Dear gawd cauncy, if you can't see through it, don't drink it

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Paddles B'mere said..
If the lower costs of production plus the cost of the additional transport are less than the cost of local production then this is what happens. The biggest cost of production is labour.

The sooner the Chinese workforce is unionised the better.

Paddles got it spot on way up there ^^^^^ somewhere. Human greed = minimise costs = maximise profits = so I can earn more and do less and think I'm a successful.

I won't buy a Snickers if it's made in China. Problem is, I'm old and actually give a ****! The younger generation doesn't give a **** about anything so they will buy them and vindicate the Company's decision to go off shore.

Just checked out the snickers at the indomart in lombok
Made in China as well

Entertaining thread, bitching about wanting an Australian made, American product?