What's the difference between broccoli from China and broccoli from Australia?

Question

They look pretty similar except the Australia ones cost more than twice the ones from China. Taste-wise, there are only subtle differences according to my tastebuds.

Is there a reason Australia broccoli is more expensive? Is it a nutritional thing, a taste thing, or a supply thing (I supposed they grow more broccoli in China)?

EDIT: Forgot to mention, I'm located in Singapore, so that might make a difference :)

Answer 1

I imagine that the following things make a vegetable more expensive:

• quantity of supply (if a shop has more product to move in a limited time they make it cheaper)
• quality of supply (eg organic)
• distance to supply (if it costs more to move it from source to destination)
• age of supply (products near expiration are cheaper because the shop needs to sell them)

Answer 2

I would look at the growing practices of China compared to Australia. Unless you are saying Organic then you don't have much regulation of how things are grown. Very little testing too with exception of the high risk items which get hit with ecoli every so often in California and other parts of the world.

Second is labour cost. What's the minimum rage in Australia for farm workers and what's it in China?

Third is transportation costs. Shipping vegetables in container ships without refridgeration means high losses so it might not make financial sense to export via ship so you're left with plane and that's even higher in cost. Looking at the map...you're half way between Australia and China BUT you have roads and warehouses all the way into China while Australia just has open Ocean.