Wenzhou footwear exports hit a record high this year

In the first 8 months, Wenzhou’s total value of imports and exports was US$13.59 billion, which was a decrease of 0.99% compared with the same period of last year after deducting exchange rate factors. Among them, exports of 11.9 billion US dollars, an increase of 0.23%; imports of 1.69 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 8.81%. The trade surplus was 10.21 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 1.9% year-on-year. Wenzhou’s foreign trade ranking ranks seventh in the province.

Although the total import and export value of Wenzhou from January to August was lower than other foreign trade cities in the province, the export value did not increase much year-on-year, but it was found that since the second half of the year, the city's exports are gradually turning the tide.

Export situation has "turning point"

In the first half of this year, except for February, the city's exports have declined year-on-year. In March, the value of exports "dropped" to 780 million U.S. dollars, a year-on-year drop of 37.9%. In April-May, the value of exports rebounded to 1.24 billion U.S. dollars and 1.47 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year drop of around 10%. In June, the value of exports increased by 1.67 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year decline of 1.24%.

In July and August, the city witnessed a year-on-year growth of the “+” sign while realizing the increase in export value. In July, the city's total export value was 1.87 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 6.97% year-on-year; August export was 1.88 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 4.02% year-on-year.

Some foreign trade companies estimate based on traditional experience that the export situation will improve in the second half of the year because orders for most industries will increase in the second half of the year. However, an expert who has long paid attention to the foreign trade situation in the city reminded that June and July are the traditional delivery seasons. The increase in orders may be a seasonal pattern. Therefore, it cannot be optimistic and blindly optimistic about the monthly data. When the EU, the United States, and other Western markets are not fully active, companies should not rely on a single market. When trying to develop new markets, they must also pay attention to brand value and e-commerce. The government needs to innovate services.

The export value of footwear hits a new high this year. From the data, the export value of mechanical and electrical products, shoes, clothing, switch-off protection circuit devices, and eyeglasses from January to August ranks among the top five, with electromechanical and footwear accounting for 67.84% of the total value.

In July and August, the success of footwear exports counter-attack, surpassing mechanical and electrical products began to "lead." In August, the export value of footwear was 672 million U.S. dollars, accounting for more than 30% of the total value of exports in August, and this year hit a new high, up 11.39% year-on-year. The overall development momentum of footwear this year is also very good, except for the year-on-year decline in March and April, and other months have varying degrees of growth. In addition, footwear increased 50% MoM in June and increased by 35.1% MoM in July.

Xie Yufang, executive chairman of the Wenzhou Leather Industry Association, believes that the sequential increase in the export value of footwear in June and July was due to a slight recovery in demand in Europe and the United States. Many footwear foreign trade companies started to take orders for next year and anti-season production. This year's sustained year-on-year increase is due to the increase in the unit price of shoes and the expansion of new markets.

Allegedly, due to the increase in raw material and labor costs and the increase in added value, the average export price of Wenzhou shoes in the first half of this year reached US$6.33, while the average unit price of China’s shoe exports was about US$3.5. Wenzhou shoes will also become “expensive” in the second half of the year. . Of course, high prices couldn't conceal the dilutive profit.

"While actively stimulating markets in Europe and the United States, Wenzhou shoe companies are stepping up bilateral trade with Russia and vigorously expanding markets such as ASEAN and South Africa," said Xie Yufang.

The export situation of the traditional advantageous industries improved: other traditional industries such as electromechanical devices, pass-through protection circuit devices and eyeglasses, etc. experienced a year-on-year decline for the first half of the year, and they also ushered in year-on-year growth in July and August.

Apparel and accessories have always been the “finding flowers” ​​on the list, and the value of exports from January to August also steadily increased. In July, the export of garments has exceeded 200 million yuan. However, the export data of the apparel industry also revealed a problem: In addition to February, the export value of such products has been negative year-on-year, although the year-on-year decline in July and August has narrowed to less than 10%.

According to Zheng Chenai, president of the Wenzhou Fashion Chamber of Commerce, the apparel exporting countries in Wenzhou are mainly EU. Since the beginning of this year, the EU countries’ market has not recovered quickly, which is the most important reason for the “negative growth” in the year-on-year period. In contrast, the recovery and development of the US market is rapid. Therefore, last month, 30 foreign trade apparel companies in Wenzhou established the “overseas display platform” in Los Angeles, USA – Los Angeles Wenger Fashion (Display Platform) Co., Ltd., which will use Los Angeles as the center to radiate the North American and South American markets.

In the export market, the markets of developed countries such as the EU and the United States are still the mainstay. From January to August, the three major export markets were the European Union, the United States, and Russia. Among them, the EU exports 3 billion US dollars, a decrease of 1.4%; the US exports 1.57 billion US dollars, an increase of 0.8%; exports to Russia 1.13 billion US dollars, an increase of 24%.

>>> Related links The city's foreign trade volume The province's first 8 months, in the 11 cities in Zhejiang Province, except for Wenzhou and Zhoushan, the import and export of other major foreign trade cities showed year-on-year growth.

Among them, the largest increase was in Jinhua City, with import and export growth of 105.4% year-on-year, followed by Shengzhou City, up 28.5%; import and export year-on-year declines fell by 0.99% in Wenzhou and 13.3% in Zhoushan.

From January to August, Wenzhou Foreign Trade ranks seventh in Zhejiang Province, ranking behind Ningbo, Hangzhou, Jinhua, Shaoxing, Jiaxing and Taizhou.