Boxes of shoes manufactured in Wenzhou are piled up at an overseas warehouse. [Photo/thehour.cn]
Statistics from Wenzhou Customs show that in the first half of this year, the city exported more than 13.5 billion yuan ($1.95 billion) in shoes overseas, a year-on-year growth of over 40 percent, mainly to Europe and the United States.
Business opportunities have increased due to the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership on Jan 1, especially trade with Japan, which witnessed a year-on-year surge of 20 percent in the first half year with a total export value of over 300 million yuan, reducing tariffs by over 3 million yuan for local enterprises.
Gold Emperor, a shoe manufacturer in Wenzhou, has in the first seven months of this year seen a sales increase of 4.5 million shoes, growing 47.02 percent year on year. Its related export value also grew by $64.03 million, a year-on-year increase of 108.14 percent.
"In recent years, the group has been highlighting its internal management," said a director of Gold Emperor. "In addition to constantly investing in automation and intelligent equipment, the group has also optimized upstream and downstream supply chains, reduced procurement costs, and expanded domestic and foreign markets."
"The group currently has orders almost scheduled to next April," the director said.
The encouraging results achieved by the shoe industry were also attributed to the local government's strong support, such as promoting the development of new patterns of foreign trade and exploring diversified markets.
