End misfortune of fakes in countryside

THE COUNTERFEIT GOODS sold in village groceries are mostly articles of everyday use and food products, which directly threaten the health and wellbeing of about half of the national population. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

The rampancy of fake goods in rural areas is due to weak supervision, which mainly takes the form of crackdowns that are more symbolic than effective. The lack of enforcers in the vast rural areas, rural residents' weak awareness of consumer rights and the fostering of "brands" by those producing fake goods are responsible. Most of fake goods are made in illegal workshops near the retailers thus making them cheaper than the genuine products they are modeled on.

The cheaper prices for the counterfeit goods are the main attraction for the more price-sensitive rural consumers, whose average disposable income is about one-third that of their urban counterparts.