Rising noodle sales revives debate on Chinese consumer spending

© Irina Kryvasheina

Instant noodles: the go-to food when you are short of time and/or money. This is particularly true in China where sales of instant noodles are used as a measure of the health of the economy. Sales have gone up, while car sales, another measure, have gone down. Preserved vegetables, another low-end product, have also seen growth. The Chinese government, however, does not agree that this is indicative of a weakening economy, claiming instead that recovery in instant noodle sales is due to an improved product and that higher sales are, in fact, a consumption upgrade, because more expensive versions are being sold, the South China Morning Post reports. Not everyone agrees.