Did somebody say Chinese people aren’t consuming enough? News that home appliance sales in rural areas increased by 179 per cent in March would certainly suggest otherwise.
As with most statistics churned out by the Chinese government, the numbers come with a caveat. But they are supported by another statistic that helps explain the shopping spree: rural net incomes grew at a faster rate than urban ones in 2010, for the first time since 1997.
Sales of home appliances were worth Rmb34.48bn ($5.3bn) in March, a leap of 179 per cent on March 2010, according to an article in the China Daily. The number of appliances sold jumped 135 per cent, to 14.7m.