A packet of honey-covered macadamias has exposed the true extent of Australia’s dependence on Chinese labor amid a production cost crisis.
An eagle-eyed shopper spotted a contradictory label on a packet of macadamias while browsing the shelves of their local Woolworths on Tuesday.
“Product from Australia (sorted in China),” the label read.
“Grown here in Australia and then sent to China for packaging… that’s a special kind of stupidity,” the shopper captioned the photo on X.
Many Australians questioned whether Woolworths brand nuts could be classified as ‘Australian made’ if they had been sorted overseas.
‘I understand that labor costs in Australia can be high, but high enough to ship products back and forth to China? Well, you learn something new every day,” said one.
‘Another blow to our great farmers who produce some of the best crops in the world. Another shame on our government,” wrote a second.
“And they talk about climate change. Unnecessary travel for products is not good for consumers,” said a third.
A packet of honey-covered macadamias (pictured) has exposed the reality of Australia’s dependence on Chinese labor during a production cost crisis
Others argued it was not reasonable to expect farmers to pay more to have their produce sorted in Australia when they could save money by outsourcing overseas.
“It costs too much to process much of anything here,” one person wrote.
But others pointed out that this was not without consequences.
“Australia’s labor costs are actually killing jobs in this country. It’s now much cheaper to package overseas,” said a second.
“That would be due to labor and energy costs in Australia… which, my friend, is the reason 13,000 businesses have closed so far this year,” agreed another.
Others said the practice was more common than Australians thought.
“We grow them and it’s cheaper to ship and package them in China and send them back to Australia than to do it all here. Seafood too. You’ll be amazed how [much] food you eat that is grown here and packaged in China,” one person wrote on Reddit.
“Australian labor costs are very high. Many products that require intensive labor use these models. Australian peeled prawns are often peeled in countries like Thailand and Vietnam and sent back,” said another.
A Woolworths spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: ‘These macadamia nuts are 100% Australian grown. We provide this type of country-of-origin labeling to help customers make an informed decision.”