Stop voting protectionist politicians in to Parliament, open the floodgates, and let cheap Asian labour and superior Asian quality products flood some sense into people here.
Why not include GST in the price?
- Thread starter lizzie
- Start date
Sorry, but 'superior Asian quality products' is an oxymoron. And 'flood some sense into people here'--you are saying that Australians have no sense.
i dont quite agree with DB's post but there are some outstanding products made in asia.
ever been to a japanese food factory? you can eat off the floor.
what about korean electronics?
you completely dismissing quality of products from an entire continent only shows your ignorance.
(sic)
It is not unreasonable to infer--when someone talks about 'Asian products'--that they are talking about China, as most of our products come from there. I hope it will change, but generally Chinese stuff is rubbish quality, unless there is good quality control and that does not happen often.
However, the Japanese take pride in everything they do, and their products are a testament to this. I would trust anything that is made in Japan. I have spent time in Japan and they are the cleanest people I have ever seen--they are even cleaner than the Italians.
I have spent time in China, Japan, Singapore and KL, so I don't think I'm 'ignorant'. I think you are super-sensitive when it comes to anything 'Asian'.
Actually it would be entirely unreasonable to infer that "asian" = China because, despite your belief that "most of our products come from there", only 15% of our imports do and 6 out of the top 10 countries we import from are in fact from Asia.
So yes, I'm glad that you've travelled there but unfortunately in this instance your blanket statement was in fact an ignorant one.
So yes, I'm glad that you've travelled there but unfortunately in this instance your blanket statement was in fact an ignorant one.
China is BY FAR are largest trading partner, having imported nearly 50,000 goods into Australia in 2013. There are no tariff protections between the two countries and we have a free-trade agreement. No other Asian country even comes second on that list of ten. Japan comes in at third with 18,000 imports.
One fifth of our imported goods comes from China. One fifth when taking into account ALL the countries that import is a huge chunk. Korea imported only about 10,000 products into Australia in 2013. So, yes, it is reasonable to assume that one is talking about China when one says 'Asia' in this context. And I do think that most of the stuff that comes out of China is crap. I am not blaming the Chinese people for this; it probably has more to do with the regulators. So please don't take it personally.
As for 'protectionist' polices, Europe and the US support their primary producers much more than we do. We are not on a level playing field. They get huge subsidies while our farmers are left to fend for themselves.
One fifth of our imported goods comes from China. One fifth when taking into account ALL the countries that import is a huge chunk. Korea imported only about 10,000 products into Australia in 2013. So, yes, it is reasonable to assume that one is talking about China when one says 'Asia' in this context. And I do think that most of the stuff that comes out of China is crap. I am not blaming the Chinese people for this; it probably has more to do with the regulators. So please don't take it personally.
As for 'protectionist' polices, Europe and the US support their primary producers much more than we do. We are not on a level playing field. They get huge subsidies while our farmers are left to fend for themselves.
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Exactly, don't forget that a tradie may offer lower price for cash to avoid the hassle of issuing an invoice, waiting to get paid, risk of not getting paid, chasing for payment etc etc.
Jobs done and dusted on the day, if its written up their book it'll get picked up by the book keeper, if not.... well not my concern.
Which is why our primary producers are one of the most efficient in the world - and are able to compete on an ever opening world market, whereas those under subsidies are slowly falling by the wayside.
Shucks - we're even looking at exporting quality garlic back to China
But that wasn't the point of this thread. I was always taught in business to underpromise and overdeliver ... only marginally, but give your client a "wow" moment.
As an example - and this is not a product bash, but just a personal example - in mid-December we'll be selling our garlic online (and direct but I'll concentrate re the online) ... the intention is to put in each 1kg parcel either a garlic peeler (cost to me $1) or a 120ml tub of our wine-based cheese patter paste (cost to me $1.50).
Not much extra cost to me in the overall scheme of things - but I can imagine how good I would feel as a customer if I received something personal like that as freebee extra.
Sadly I find Australian business often going the other way - overpromising and underdelivering - where it's not turning up when arranged, or not disclosing full cost upfront, or the product being dodgey
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That's an excellent post lizzie, good idea. PG I do agree that our farmers often don't get the same support, especially compared to the large EU subsidies, it's a bit of a tough one.
Typically though while we are excellent farmers here a lot of the agricultural sector makes silly mistakes when it comes to the business/processing side and the kiwis are often better run. That's at least my experience with the dairy sector which I've done work in for the last 10 years
Typically though while we are excellent farmers here a lot of the agricultural sector makes silly mistakes when it comes to the business/processing side and the kiwis are often better run. That's at least my experience with the dairy sector which I've done work in for the last 10 years
Half the products in your house and materials are probably made in Asia. So what's not working?
Actually we do not have a free trade agreement with China. If you have been reading the news, you would realise this is what Abbott is trying to achieve now.So yes, sanj's point on ignorance also stands.
In fact, I can't think of anything in our home that has come from China, so it all works fine.
DB, you still haven't explained 'flood some sense into the people here'. Do 'the great unwashed' have no sense?
How is the view from the lofty heights of the ivory tower?An in-principle trade agreement was decided upon years ago. All the negotiating rounds have been completed. We are stuck on a couple of barriers (agriculture being one). But in principle it's there. While China now subsidises its farmers even more than the EU does by the tune of $176 billion, you would have Australia remove the little protectionism it has of its agriculture. Careful, you might marry a farmer one day and wish for protectionism.
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Open the market floodgates to Brazilian orange juice, which contains a fungicide called carbendazim. Carbendazim causes birth defects and cancer. Australian growers do not use carbendazim.
Open the floodgates? Three women in Sydney were hospitalised with cholera after eating whitebait from Indonesia--cholera from fish either harvested in water contaminated with faeces or stored in ice contaminated with faeces. No record of anyone ever getting cholera from Aussie seafood.
Open the floodgates to seafood fed on pig faeces? No thanks.
Open the floodgates to lamp oil which gets labelled and sold as olive oil here in Australia?
Open the floodgates to pig meat that has been raised on human faeces?
But forget that--you want to let the free market reign. And you call me ignorant? lol. You have no idea.
Our 'protectionist' pollies also protect our standards: we have some of the best, clean product in the world. Our 'protectionist' pollies ensure our agriculture and farming are well regulated so that YOU stay healthy and safe.
Two separate issues. A free market doesn't mean abandoning safety standards; it means that any producer willing to comply with Australian food safety standards should be allowed access to our market on a level playing field.
And I believe carbendazim is still used by Australian macadamia farmers (possibly amongst others).
Carbendazim shouldn't be used anywhere here. It is banned in Australia. It causes severe abnormalities--eg, two-headed fish, fish with no eyes, and fish with two tails.
Australia produces some of the best and cleanest produce in the world. There are quality standards here.
DB would have us 'open the floodgates'--deregulate markets and allow free trade. Free trade is not fair trade. And it leaves Australian farmers unable to compete with produce coming from countries that do not have the same standards of quality (or social eg. minimum wage, OH&S, superannuation; or environmental standards).
Since the orange industry was deregulated, farmers have been either throwing out their oranges and/or pulling out all their drops. With deregulation, Australian farmers were/are expected to meet Australia's high standards and yet receive the same price for produce as developing countries, some of which are highly subsidised, while ours have the second lowest level of income support--3 percent compared to 22 per cent for Europe.
Australia produces some of the best and cleanest produce in the world. There are quality standards here.
DB would have us 'open the floodgates'--deregulate markets and allow free trade. Free trade is not fair trade. And it leaves Australian farmers unable to compete with produce coming from countries that do not have the same standards of quality (or social eg. minimum wage, OH&S, superannuation; or environmental standards).
Since the orange industry was deregulated, farmers have been either throwing out their oranges and/or pulling out all their drops. With deregulation, Australian farmers were/are expected to meet Australia's high standards and yet receive the same price for produce as developing countries, some of which are highly subsidised, while ours have the second lowest level of income support--3 percent compared to 22 per cent for Europe.
You can still remove trade tariffs and other barriers whilst maintaining quality requirements. They are two completely separate arguments.
I think one of the problems is that because so many China/Asian products are cheap to produce, they therefore must be superior...that is a common perception.
Having been in Golf retail for most of my adult life, and more recently (the last 5 years) in tyres; I have seen a wide range of products in both industries produced in many parts of the world.
In both industries I've sold the top end and bottom end of price and generally, the most/more expensive is better for quality control.
But, that is not always the case, and often the lower-end items are not that much worse.
For example; a Callaway Golf driver as opposed to a no-name mass produced (they all are) Chinese knock-off. Callaway can be 50% more expensive.
In the hands of most golfers, the difference between the two in performance is minimal if they are matched to the player correctly for specs.
Same with tyres; for most folks they do not need a racing tyre. But, the higher end performance tyres can be 50% - and more - more expensive than yer Gung-Lung elcheapo.
But, the more expensive will not usually last more than 50% longer than the Gung-Lung.
We sell one particular cheaper-end Chinese tyre which I would argue is as good as any higher-end brand-name tyre on the market.
Many folks would argue the more expensive tyres are safer. Probably true to a degree.
But, we see soo many folks driving on half-flat, bald and dangerous tyres; it wouldn't matter what brand was on the car in that condition.
Having been in Golf retail for most of my adult life, and more recently (the last 5 years) in tyres; I have seen a wide range of products in both industries produced in many parts of the world.
In both industries I've sold the top end and bottom end of price and generally, the most/more expensive is better for quality control.
But, that is not always the case, and often the lower-end items are not that much worse.
For example; a Callaway Golf driver as opposed to a no-name mass produced (they all are) Chinese knock-off. Callaway can be 50% more expensive.
In the hands of most golfers, the difference between the two in performance is minimal if they are matched to the player correctly for specs.
Same with tyres; for most folks they do not need a racing tyre. But, the higher end performance tyres can be 50% - and more - more expensive than yer Gung-Lung elcheapo.
But, the more expensive will not usually last more than 50% longer than the Gung-Lung.
We sell one particular cheaper-end Chinese tyre which I would argue is as good as any higher-end brand-name tyre on the market.
Many folks would argue the more expensive tyres are safer. Probably true to a degree.
But, we see soo many folks driving on half-flat, bald and dangerous tyres; it wouldn't matter what brand was on the car in that condition.
I can't comment on food products.
I would love to see our supermarkets (and markets) shelves full of Aussie made food and food products.
But they already are. It's just that there are others too made overseas. Always check the label and make your decision accordingly. I don't have any issues with any other country but the food practices in China are a joke and it just disgusts me. Would rather not eat the food.
