How can Chinese shoes "go" the world?

The reporter learned from the interview that "The case of the EU shoes lost" has brought good news, but due to factors such as the appreciation of the renminbi, rising labor force and raw materials, domestic export shoe manufacturers still face numerous challenges. Raising the value-added of products, effectively reducing costs, and promoting "difficulty" in domestic and foreign trade are the consensus of many shoe companies in China.

Shadows have finally settled in the case of the trade friction that has been affected in recent years. On October 28th, the World Trade Organization (WTO) panel ruled that the EU's anti-dumping measures against Chinese shoes for five years violated regulations. The reporter learned from a number of shoe exhibitors that this is a good news, but exporting shoe companies is still hardly optimistic in the short term.

It is understood that the overall situation of shoe-making enterprises in Wenling area is not optimistic, and many small factories have stopped production or even closed down when they can't wait for the current good. Some companies said that due to the European debt crisis and other factors, the market recovery has slowed down. "All of them are old customers, and there is no improvement in orders compared to last year."

“In order to deal with such trade barriers as set by the EU, enterprises have made difficult adjustments in the adjustment of product structure. Although the anti-dumping tax is no longer imposed, it is not easy for companies to revert back to the original product structure. “Huang Dongyi Shoe Co., Ltd. deputy general manager Huang Yiyi said: “A few years ago, the market has changed so much.”

Earlier this year, the European Union imposed anti-dumping duties on Chinese footwear products due to expire. However, the reporter learned that many companies believe that "even if there is no anti-dumping measure, other means can be adopted."

Regarding the practical significance of the WTO ruling, most companies said that dialectically, a ruling does not mean that Chinese shoemakers will be able to avoid harm in the future. After this ruling, EU anti-dumping measures against Chinese companies may be more scruples, but with The various anti-dumping investigations that accompany the economic crisis in Europe and the United States are probably more to shift the domestic economic crisis. Chinese companies should respond cautiously.

At the same time, emerging markets are also less and less "safe." For example, Latin American countries' restrictions on the export of Chinese footwear products will escalate and will affect the Chinese footwear exports to the Latin American market.

Many relevant statistics on the issue show that in the first three quarters of this year, China’s export average price was higher than the same period of last year. After deducting price factors, the actual export volume increased by 11.7%, which was a drop of 20.1 percentage points from the same period of last year. The export price of footwear products rose by 15.8%. After deducting price factors, the actual export volume increased by 3.2%. This shows that rising prices have become the main reason supporting the rapid growth of footwear exports.

"This price increase is obviously affected by the rise of various domestic cost factors." Many interviewed business owners said that in fact the profit margin has not increased.

Guo Weiwen, secretary-general of China Anti-Dumping Federation's shoes anti-dumping association, said that around 2008, some foundry companies had moved and their main purpose was to avoid international trade frictions and trade barriers such as the EU's anti-dumping ruling, but now the situation is different. The relocation and transfer of large-scale foundry enterprises was mainly due to the continued rise in the prices of domestic production factors, which affected the global market layout and profitability of these capitals.

*** Exchange rate appreciation also squeezed the export shoe's profit margins. Many interviewed business owners said that the rise in the value of *** compared to the rise in the cost of raw materials and labor is even more serious for export-oriented companies.

In addition, European countries and the United States have used technical barriers to trade such as environmental protection standards, safety and ecological certification, and corporate social responsibility review to set standards that are favorable to themselves, and have set many obstacles for the export of footwear in China.

In the light of the shrinking demand in the international market, the pressure on China’s footwear exports is not small.

Domestic shoe enterprises face export "bottleneck". The biggest problem in terms of enterprises and products is that "Made in China" has entered the era of high costs. Only by changing the mode of development and accelerating the adjustment of industrial structure can enterprises ease the "difficulty of exporting."

“We must realize that in terms of low-end production capacity, we have no advantage compared with neighboring countries and regions. In the European and American markets, most of them saw 'Made in China' five years ago, and now 'Made in Egypt'' Vietnam Manufacturing can be seen everywhere. There is no way out for the labor-intensive industry by relying solely on price and labor.” said Jiang Jinhua, vice president of Jiangsu Huihong International Group Co., Ltd.

Efforts to expand their own brands and increase the added value of their products are also the way to survive for export shoe companies. Only in this way can we effectively guard against all kinds of "anti-dumping investigations" aimed at transferring one's own crisis.

Luo Chunyuan, commercial director of Zhejiang Taizhou Xi Debao Footwear Co., Ltd. believes that, from the current perspective, in the mid-range industry, it will take time for emerging regions to replace China’s status because they also need related support and other construction.

In addition, efforts to drive a two-wheeler and take the same business model of foreign trade and domestic sales are the directions that export companies can explore.