Up Yours China! Australians reject Chinese imports

Australians are rejecting Chinese made goods with 80% of Aussies saying they would avoid buying products from the PRC.

In response to China’s economic bullying and COVID more are turning to Australian products to support industry and jobs.

Only 21% of Australians saying they’d be more likely to buy products made in China, a 9% points drop from 2019.

Australian consumers are more likely to buy goods manufactured in nearest neighbour New Zealand on 55% than any other foreign country.

Right behind New Zealand is the UK on 51% (down 4% points), USA on 47% (down 7% points), Japan on 46% (down 7% points) and Germany on 46% (down 7% points).

Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan, says Australian-made goods enjoyed a surge in popularity during 2020 as international travel was cut-off while Chinese-made goods experienced the steepest decline in preference of any country:

“Unsurprisingly it is Chinese-made goods have fallen the most in preference and only 21% of Australians say they would be more likely to buy a product that is ‘made in China’ – down 9% points from 2019.

“In addition, a clear majority of 58% of Australians say they would be less likely to buy a product that is ‘made in China’ – up 15% points from 2019,” he said.

In response to Australian requests for an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 the Chinese Government has slapped tariffs and import restrictions on a range of Australian goods including wine, barley, lobsters, coal, timber, red meat and cotton.

However, Australia’s largest export to China – iron ore – has remain untouched by any restrictions and the price of the key commodity has surged to a record of around $260 AUD per tonne.

The surging price of iron ore, and other commodities such as copper, silver and agricultural products, has contributed to record Australian trade surpluses over the last year and supported growth in the Australian economy despite the pandemic.

“Although the preference for Australian-made goods is very high across all age groups it is Baby Boomer (96%) and Generation X (94%) who are even more likely to prefer Australian-made products than other generations.”

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