Footwear sector of Wenzhou battles all odds successfully

19 Apr '08

2 min read

According to Wenzhou Footwear Industry Association, more than 70 shoes enterprises have closed down recently in the region and the number is expected to grow further in near future.

According to the Association, within a short span 4 years the number of shoe enterprises have fallen from 5,000 to 2,600, leaving the entrepreneurs worried.

Although China is going through RMB appreciation and decrease in international market has not affected the industry on a large scale.

In January and February, nearly 98.44 million pairs of shoes were exported, with a total value of almost US $440 million, a slight rise of 1.13 percent from the same time last year.

The exports in the month of January reached $280 million, up by 25.32 percent. However, February witnessed a year-on-year decrease of 24.54 percent, and managed to earn revenue worth US $159 million.

The average rate of net profits for Wenzhou shoes industry earlier was around 5 percent, which is going down due to lack of orders from domestic as well as global market.

Experts believe that, labour costs has risen nearly 30 percent, adding to increase cost of production, making it difficult for the factory owners to survive in fierce competitive market.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - China

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