Warning bells of a cooling year-end market are ringing in Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province, China, known for supplying 80% of the world’s Christmas trees. Tree orders have not recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels and are even declining compared to last year.
On the 16th, China’s economic specialist media, Chosun Ilbo, reported a sharp decrease in wholesale orders for Christmas-related products in Yiwu City this year. A merchant dealing in Christmas accessory wholesale in Yiwu City told Chosun Ilbo, “Orders have not slowed down from last year, they’ve actually decreased,” adding, “The volume of orders has decreased by at least one-third.”
The end of last year was a time of confusion as China transitioned from zero-COVID to living with COVID. On-site manufacturing factories struggled to operate as scheduled, and supplies were not as smooth as in normal years. Christmas tree exporter Ju Juzhi said, “Orders from Europe and the United States have significantly decreased, and business with countries along the Belt and Road has increased,” but added, “Overall, it’s less than last year, and it’s even worse compared to before the pandemic (COVID-19).”
Yiwu City is considered the largest supplier of general merchandise exports worldwide. In 2016, it predicted Donald Trump’s presidential election based on the demand for election merchandise and even foresaw social unrest in France due to an increase in orders for yellow safety vests.
A trade company representative told Chosun Ilbo, “The market downturn is inevitable, and it’s not easy to do business with foreign customers.” Initially, this year’s export target was set at 80 million yuan, but so far, only about half of that has been achieved.
A sock company representative, whose 80% of orders were concentrated in Europe and the United States, said, “Considering the shrinking trend of the European and American markets and the increasing demand of the Belt and Road countries, we are directing traffic to the latter.” Although it’s effective, it’s almost like pioneering a new market.”
According to the China Customs Office, as of October this year, China’s foreign trade exports increased by 0.4% compared to last year in yuan terms, while imports decreased by 0.5%. In dollar terms, exports decreased by 5.6%, and imports decreased by 6.5%. Hu Yadong, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, said in a briefing, “The fourth quarter is typically the peak season for foreign trade,” calling it the “closing season that adds momentum to annual trade.”
Beijing=Kim Hyun-jung, special correspondent
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