80% of fertilizers bought online are fake, and farmers who lose their entire harvest can only swallow their grievances
According to statistics from the central bank, in the first half of 2014, China's online shopping users reached 350 million, each person spent an average of more than 3,000 yuan, and total online consumption reached 1.05 trillion yuan, and this figure is still somewhat conservative compared with the e-commerce companies' own data. As online consumption increases, so do complaints about online shopping. Relevant departments point out that newly added consumer complaints basically come from the online shopping sector. Recently, CCTV reporters followed the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the China Consumers Association in conducting an in-depth investigation of online shopping platforms.
Of 9 e-commerce platforms, 7 sell fakes; "official channels" and "counter verification" are not reassuring either
In the second half of 2014, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and the China Consumers Association twice conducted quality inspections of goods sold on online trading platforms. Of the 9 e-commerce platforms sampled, 7 were selling counterfeit or substandard goods, a problem rate of about 77.8%.
On internet shopping platforms, from clothing and cosmetics, which are closely related to consumers' daily lives, to other items such as fertilizer and lubricating oil, most merchants claim that the well-known brands they sell are qualified products, come from official legitimate channels, and also accept counter verification. But some trademark owners reported to industry and commerce departments that many of these are fakes.
80% of fertilizers are counterfeit and may cause farmers to lose their entire harvest
A Taobao store selling the famous brand Stanley fertilizer claimed to have obtained company authorization and to sell only genuine products. But according to monitoring, this so-called specialty store was actually also selling fakes.
The rural market is becoming a key area of infringement by e-commerce. In this targeted monitoring, fertilizer and agricultural supply products had the most non-genuine products; of the 15 fertilizer and agricultural supply products purchased, 12 were non-genuine.
Experts point out that fertilizer is not an ordinary consumer good; it concerns farmers' annual harvest. If online shopping coverage further expands, a non-genuine product rate of more than 80% will become a major issue affecting the security of supplies of agricultural products such as grain and vegetables. Once fake fertilizer is spread by farmers onto the land, it will bring serious harm to soil quality, seeds, and crop yields.