This article appeared in the Birmingham Post in January 2009.

Written by John Higgins

It might have been a Credit Crunch Christmas this year but we still gave each other lots of festive gifts. Electronic gadgets, sweaters, socks and toys for the children will have proved very popular, along with lots of seasonal treats like mince pies and chocolates. All types of consumer products have been getting cheaper over the last few years and this, together with the early sales, will have led to a good number of bargains for lucky consumers.

Have you ever thought why our consumer goods have been getting so much cheaper over the past 10 years or so?

It is all down to international trade and most of us will realise that our consumer products are now made almost entirely overseas where costs are lower. Take China, for instance. Twenty years ago, Europe imported almost nothing from China but by 2006 it had grown to Click to continue »