The shortage of chopsticks in China has become so acute that a firm in Americus, Georgia has begun exporting millions of 
pairs daily to the country, reports China Daily (Aug.22,2011). Georgia Chopsticks, founded by Korean-American Jae Lee, is operating around the clock to meet demand. It currently puts out 2 million sets per day with 60 employees, but has plans to expand to 150 workers and 10 million pairs of chopsticks a day by year’s end.
Amid a shortage of wood in China, the abundant polar and sweet gum trees in Georgia were found to be ideal for chopsticks, producing straight, pliable, and light-colored implements. Being sold in supermarkets in China, they cost less than a penny each to make. In China, manufacturers produce 63 billion sets per year. But in some areas of that country and Japan, they have simply run out of wood.
Says Jae Lee,”When I opened this business the reaction from my family and friends was ‘Are you crazy?’ But we’ve shown you can make something happen”. One of his workers adds: “Everywhere you see in America it says ‘Made in China’ and you wonder if in China they ever see ‘Made in America’ “. Each Box shipped has Made in USA in very large print to drive the point home.
Low-tech manufactured goods being shipped from high-tech America to China? Here is a 2 minute MSNBC video link you can use in class to make the point.
Discussion questions:
1. If the US can make chopsticks for export, why can’t the Amazon Kindle be made here?
2. Why did GE recently move its HQ for x-ray and MRI devices from Wisconsin to China?