Huakun Women Consumption Guidance Center conducted a survey of rural women’s consumption from October to November 2006. The center sent out 2000 questionnaires and obtained a high return rate （98.45%） of 1969 valid responses.

Ⅰ. Basic facts and figures

The interviewed rural women are in 10 provincial cities and 20 county towns.

Their average age is 36.64.

The majority of them are high school graduates （72.16%） and college graduates （11.63）.

The majority are Han people and only 3.14 per cent are ethnic minorities.

The majority are married women.

20.5 per cent live with their parents-in-law.

Ⅱ. Income

Because the survey was conducted in the fourth quarter，income in the first three quarters becomes the major content of the questionnaire.

1. Total income of the first three quarters

（1）The average gross income is 22227.97 yuan.

（2）The average net income is 12898.27 yuan.

（3）The average family accumulated saving is 20326.91 yuan.

（4）5.44 per cent family income earners are women，while as high as 73.27 per cent are couples both making money.

（5）Wife and husband manage their family income together in most households. The second popular mode is，women manage alone.

（6）The first five reasons for saving are：children’s education，emergency needs，building house，old age and family expenses.

2. Women’s personal income in the first three quarters

（1）The average gross personal income is 8972.21 yuan，with 1.82 per cent woman respondents claim no personal income.

（2）The average net personal income is 5661.28 yuan.

（3）The average accumulated saving is 6258.1 yuan.

（4）About 50 per cent respondents manage their own personal income while 42.45 per cent say they manage their income together with their husbands.

Ⅲ. Consumption decision-making

（1）As high as 73.32 per cent women make decisions on family food.

（2）As high as 82.53 per cent women make decisions on family wardrobe.

（3）As high as 77.07 per cent women make decisions on family daily necessities.

（4）As for family durables，only 26.84 per cent women make decisions while 41.39 per cent respondents say they decide together with their husbands.

（5）A few women decide on farming tools while 44.16 per cent say they decide together with their husbands.

（6）On house building，decision-making by couples is 51.94 per cent，and by families is 21.33 per cent.

（7）On children’s education，66.88 per cent respondents say it is the decision made by both wife and husband.

（8）On production management and investment，60.06 per cent respondents make decisions together with their husbands.

（9）On human relations，20.3 per cent women make their own decisions while 53.32 per cent make decisions with their husbands.

Ⅳ. Consumption environment

The survey shows that consumption environment in the respondents’ regions needs to be improved.

1. Shopping places

（1）Respondents buy food in the following places：small village shops （29.15%），markets （28.21%），village supermarkets （22.83%），county towns （18.03%），private sellers （12.49%）.

（2）Respondents buy clothes and accessories in county towns （55.88%） and markets （28.26%）.

（3）For cosmetics，women go to county towns （56.7%），markets （20.84%） and village supermarkets （12.3%）.

（4）For daily necessities，women go to village shops，markets （70.8%），and county towns （29.1%）.

（5）For home electronic appliances，most go to county towns （83.31%）.

（6）Respondents buy seeds，chemical fertilizer and farm tools in county towns （43.3%） and markets （37.3%）.

2. The distance between residence and public places

On average，respondents live 3216.35 meters away from a hospital，2035.1 meters away from a school，889.7 meters from a shop，and 601.2meters from a major road.

3. Shopping convenience

Among respondents，52.54 per cent say，“It is convenient to buy anything”；37.18 per cent say，“It is relatively convenient”；and only 0.67 per cent claim，“It is very inconvenient and difficult to buy.”

4. Evaluation of farmers’ shops or shops invested by farmers

（1）When asked whether they trust farmers’ shops，54.1 per cent respondents say they do，33.73 per cent say they do not；8.43 per cent trust them very much，and 3.73 per cent distrust them very much.

（2）When asked whether they trust shops invested by farmers，respondents give more or less the same opinion.

（3）Respondents were asked to give a 5-grade evaluation on farmers’ shops and shops invested by farmers. The result shows the highest mark is 3.13 while the lowest is 2.49.

5. Factors that influence the purchase of daily necessities and valuables

The number one factor is commodity quality，second is price，and third is function.

6. Consumption safety

（1）On fake products and commercial cheats，respondents place items in the following order：food，agricultural production material，cosmetics，medicine，health pr