Broaden The Market Direction Dongguan Shoe Enterprises Rekindle Hope

"The development of urban high consumption market, rural market and new export-oriented market will have a great opportunity for Dongguan footwear enterprises this year," said the relevant head of Huangpu Customs in an interview yesterday. According to the statistics of the customs last month, Dongguan exported a total of 250 million dollars of footwear products in January, an increase of 0.6% compared with the same period last year (the same below), and a decrease of 6.4% month on month. The customs analysis pointed out that there were two reasons for the year-on-year growth of export data in the economic downturn: first, when the export of finished shoes was 37.62 million pairs, a year-on-year decline of 40.8%, the export of footwear parts and other products increased by 11.6% year on year, resulting in a recovery of the overall data; In addition, the customs tariff has made some adjustments at the beginning of the year, which also has an impact on the year-on-year data. However, the customs has not yet made an analysis on the decline of the month on month data. There are only two enterprises exporting more than 10 million dollars Last month, there were 361 enterprises with a record of exporting shoes in Dongguan, down 4.7% year on year. Among them, there are only two enterprises that export more than ten million dollars, with a total of 55.51 million dollars. The United States, the European Union and Hong Kong are the main export markets of Dongguan footwear products. In January, Dongguan exported shoes to the US $140 million, up 1.1% year on year; Exports to the EU were 37.77 million US dollars, down 2.4% year on year; Exports to Hong Kong reached US $2005 million, up 22.4% year on year; The total exports of the above three markets accounted for 79.5% of the total export value of Dongguan in the same period. It is particularly worth mentioning that in January this year, Dongguan exported 26000 dollars of inbound and outbound goods from bonded warehouses, and there was no export record in the same period last year. The boss of a shoe company in Dongguan told the author that although the data in January this year showed an increase compared with the same period last year, it is still too early to judge that the shoe industry is showing signs of recovery. "Some companies will delay orders, and exports will increase in January. Generally, the annual cycle of orders is in March the next year." "Environmental barrier" still puzzles footwear export Although the increase of export tax rebate rate last year alleviated the urgent need of some shoe enterprises, the current international economic situation is uncertain. This year, Dongguan shoe industry will face two major export obstacles, namely, the rise of trade protectionism and "environmental barriers", in addition to coping with the adverse impact of the financial crisis on slowing down foreign demand. "Brazil is an emerging export market. In January this year, Dongguan exported 994000 dollars of Brazilian shoes, an increase of 1.8 times over the same period last year. If the export to Brazil, an emerging market, is impacted, the export situation in the second half of the year is bound to be affected." For example, customs officials said that on December 31, 2008, Brazil initiated anti-dumping investigations on footwear products with customs codes 6402 and 6405 originating in China and Vietnam, and proposed anti-dumping duties on the involved products amounting to 435.7%. Some experts are also concerned about this. They believe that Brazil is the largest market in Latin America. Once the country initiates an anti-dumping investigation, other Latin American countries are likely to follow suit. All these are likely to continue to have a negative impact on Dongguan's footwear exports. At the same time, "environmental barriers" will also affect Dongguan's shoe exports. The customs explained that at present, the European Union and the United States, relying on their own technological and economic advantages, have formulated stringent technical and environmental standards related to safety, environmental protection, health and other aspects to restrict the export of shoe products. For example, the labor protection shoes exported to Europe should obtain the EU CE safety certification mark, and the PCP residue of leather used for shoes should be strictly measured. Three major markets rekindle export hopes In the face of the complex situation, customs analysts believe that Dongguan shoe enterprises are not without opportunities for development, and should focus on the development of "three markets", that is, increase the development of urban high consumption markets, rural markets and new export-oriented markets. The person further analyzed that since January 1, 2009, Singapore has abolished all tariffs on imports from China, that is, zero tariffs on shoes exported to Singapore. Dongguan shoe enterprises can take full advantage of preferential policies to expand the Singapore market. The customs also suggested that with the implementation of a series of policies and measures to expand domestic demand, domestic investment should be further strengthened and consumer demand should be further activated. "We should spare no effort to open up the domestic market of large commercial cities, large economic provinces, high-income regions and high consumption levels; at the same time, we should guide enterprises to produce all kinds of goods suitable for the needs of the rural market and ask for markets from the vast countryside."   Editor in charge: Wang Xiaonan