For some time now, fujian quan province has occupied an important position in the chinese footwear market, but since this year, quanzhou has not been in a satisfactory position to export footwear。
The previously released export data for footwear in spring county in the first half of this year show that, despite higher export prices, the volume of exports declined in comparison. At the same time, journalists found a similar decline in shoe exports in zhejiang wenzhou and winter ridge in taizhou in the first half of the year。
In response, it is argued that this is mainly due to the rising cost and price levels of domestic labour in recent years, which have pushed up the price of export shoes, while the comparative advantage of our labour price is diminishing, foreign trade orders are shifting to countries in south-east asia, such as viet nam, where factor costs are relatively low, and the upgrading of technical safety standards abroad, which has raised the threshold for the export of our enterprises, to some extent affecting the export of local shoes, such as spring county。
Quanzhou, and so on
According to the latest customs statistics, in the first half of this year, quanzhou city exported nearly 230 million pairs of footwear, a decrease of 3. 6 per cent compared to the same period last year; the average price increased by 12. 5 per cent。
Journalists have learned that this situation is not a single case in quan county, as it has been in wenzhou and winter ridge, among others. In the first half of this year, the value of shoe exports from winzhou was 1. 327 billion yuan, a decrease of 3. 92 per cent over the previous year. According to data from the chinese customs office in wingling, during the first half of this year, the total value of the exports of chinese shoes in the city was $513 million, a decrease of 3. 94 per cent over the same period。
Independent commentator in the footwear industry, markang, told the daily economic news (weibo) reporter that, at present, the three main bases for footwear products in the country are spring county, wenzhou and guangzhou, with the export of chengdu women's shoes being higher and an important base, and that export data from four locations can largely represent the overall national situation。
Zhu qingxiang, a chinese consultant and researcher in light industry, also pointed out that the situation with respect to shoe exports in the country is not encouraging, and that “in the context of the devaluation of the renminbi, shoe exports have not increased or declined, illustrating the larger export crisis in our country”
In industry's view, re-export challenges of footwear, such as in spring county, are influenced by multiple factors, among which high production costs are the main cause. For example, the rising costs of production and the rising prices of export shoes have prevented the generation of price advantages for products such as those in viet nam, and business profits have become thinner。
In addition, ma'sang told journalists that businesses were also facing weak foreign demand。
It is understood that during the first half of this year, pressure was placed on shoe-exporting enterprises, mainly in the middle east, such as ukraine. Statistics show that among the exports of the canton to ukraine, footwear are one of the main categories. In 2013, the value of the canton's exports to ukraine amounted to rmb 330 million, while rmb 120 million were exported。
Since this year, exports from shoe-based enterprises to ukraine in spring county have declined owing to the unstable situation in ukraine. In february this year, the value of quanzhou's merchandise exports to ukraine was 1. 5 million yuan, a decrease of 64. 4 per cent over the same period, of which 2. 73 million yuan was exported from footwear, an 85 per cent decrease over the same period。
Share of “cheap” manufacturing sites
In fact, in recent years, factors in new “cheap” manufacturing areas, such as viet nam, have started to take over the market share of chinese exports。
In-industry analysts told journalists that the shoe industry is currently the third largest export industry in viet nam and that it has become the second largest exporter of footwear after china. Statistics from viet nam's customs service show that in 2013, vietnamese exports of shoes amounted to approximately $10. 32 billion, an increase of 18 per cent over the same period. In the first half of 2014, viet nam exported about $4. 6 billion in shoes, an increase of over 20 per cent。
Viet nam is known to attract orders from many foreign firms because of low labour costs and the competitiveness of its exports. Statistics from the vietnamese shoes and bags association indicate that in the first half of 2014, neck, adidas and puma enterprises have transferred a large number of their orders to vietnamese factories, including in china. Companies that had previously ordered goods only in china also intended to invest in viet nam。
However, ma gwan pointed out to the daily economic news reporter that south-east asia does have greater challenges in manufacturing exports to china, but that this is a competition at different levels. A region such as viet nam is better at low-end manufacturing and has a cost advantage, of course not compared to its enterprises, but still has a voice in terms of quality。
Zhu qingxiang, for his part, said that in response to the rise of new “cheap” manufacturing areas, such as viet nam, chinese shoe companies should upgrade their products to achieve a qualitative transformation and should not continue to struggle in the “price war.”。
Responsible editor: zhang dei
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