According to Huangpu Customs, Dongguan exported nearly 160 million pairs of footwear in the first quarter of this year, representing a decline of 8.5 percent from the same period of 2007.
The statistics disclose that, exports of shoes with rubber or plastic sole were 0.70 million , a downfall of 12.2 percent and leather footwear also witnessed a decrease of 10.9 percent with total number reaching 0.40 million pairs.
United States has always been a major market for Dongguan footwear industry. But due to recent upheavel in the US economy, and subprime credit crisis, there has been a decline in demand from the local consumers, which affected Dongguan's exports negatively.
In Q1 this year, Dongguan exported nearly 110 million pairs to US, showcasing a decrease of 3.9 percent, accounting for 67.7 percent of total export from the region over the same period of 2007.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - China