Aussie shoppers divided over label on popular product sold at Woolworths: 'You learn something new every day'

A packet of honey-coated macadamias has exposed the true extent of Australia's reliance on Chinese labour during a cost-of-manufacturing crisis.  

An eagle-eyed shopper spotted a contradictory label on a packet of macadamias while browsing the shelves in their local Woolworths on Tuesday. 

'Product of Australia (Sorted in China),' the label read.

'Grown here in Australia and then sent to China to be packaged... that's a special kind of dumb,' the shopper captioned the photo on X. 

Many Aussies questioned whether the Woolworths-brand nuts could be classified as 'Australian-made' if they had been sorted overseas. 

'I get that labour costs in Australia can be high, but high enough to ship products back and forth to China? Well you learn something new every day,' one said.

'Another kick in the guts for our wonderful farmers who produce some of the best crops in the world. Shame on our government once again,' a second wrote. 

'And they talk about climate change. Unnecessary travel for products is not good for the consumer,' a third commented. 

A packet of honey-coated macadamias (pictured) has exposed the reality of Australia's reliance on Chinese labour during a cost-of-manufacturing crisis

A packet of honey-coated macadamias (pictured) has exposed the reality of Australia's reliance on Chinese labour during a cost-of-manufacturing crisis

'Product of Australia (Sorted in China)' the label reads on the Woolworths-brand nuts

'Product of Australia (Sorted in China)' the label reads on the Woolworths-brand nuts

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Others claimed it wasn't reasonable to expect farmers to pay more to have their products sorted in Australia when they can save money by outsourcing overseas. 

'Costs too much to process much of anything here,' one person wrote. 

But others pointed out this didn't come without consequences. 

'Labour costs in Australia are effectively killing jobs in this country. Much cheaper now to package overseas,' a second said. 

'That would be a result of labour and energy costs in Australia... and that my friend is why 13,000 businesses have closed so far this year,' another agreed.  

Others said the practice was more common than Aussies thought. 

'We grow them and it's cheaper to send and package in China and send back to Australia than do all of it] here. Seafood too. You'll be amazed at how [much] food you eat that's grown here and packaged in China,' one person wrote on Reddit. 

'Australian labour costs are very high. Many products requiring intensive labour use these models e.g. Australian peeled prawns are often peeled in places like Thailand and Vietnam and shipped back,' another said. 

A Woolworths spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: 'These macadamia nuts are 100% Australian grown. We provide country of origin labelling such as this to help customers make an informed decision.'