Japan'S Earthquake "Shock" China'S Footwear Export Trade

March 17th March 11, 2011,

Japan is a big consumer of footwear, with a per capita consumption of about 3.5 pairs of people.

However, the number of shoe makers in Japan is not large and the scale is not large. The manufacturing capacity of local shoes in Japan can not meet the daily needs of Japanese residents.

Japan, known as a fashion power, relies heavily on imports for its footwear consumer market.

China is a world famous manufacturer and exporter of shoe products. Japan's huge demand for shoes makes it the third largest export market for Chinese footwear. The number of shoes imported from Japan reaches about five hundred million pairs per year, which accounts for about 70% of the import of Japanese finished shoes, and the market share is about 70%.

Most of the non leather shoes imported from Japan are Asian products, and leather shoes from China have risen rapidly to the top in recent years.

Apart from the price advantage, the upgrading of technology and quality level is the more important reason.

Recently, the earthquake in the waters off Honshu Island in Japan has caused a great disaster to the Japanese island. It has also brought great impact to the economy. Will Japan's demand for footwear products decline? Will the Chinese footwear industry be affected by this "shock" in Japan?

At present, China's large and medium-sized shoe enterprises are "keeping their eyes open" and pay close attention to the possible impact of Japan's earthquake on China's footwear industry.

Recently, journalists from Wenzhou, China's shoe capital, have received news that the Japanese earthquake has not yet affected Wenzhou's footwear industry's import and export trade with Japan.

"Leather shoes, shoes and other Wenzhou shoes account for most of Wenzhou's exports to Japan, with an annual export volume of US $more than 100 million.

As far as I know, at present, exports have not been affected, "said Xie Rongfang, Secretary General of Wenzhou shoe leather industry association.

Zheng Shengjie, Secretary General of Wenzhou Council for trade promotion, said: "the impact is not so fast yet. From the perspective of channels, there is no Wenzhou shoe company that reflects the damage caused by earthquakes.

Although Wenzhou has not shown any impact on Japan's import and export trade, for export enterprises located in the disaster area, on the one hand, enterprises may face rejection or no sign on orders, and on the other hand, Japanese customers' import demand will be restrained in the short term.

But in the long run, the focus of Japan's next state will be on the national reconstruction after disaster, the restoration of national life and the development of the national economy, and shoes and caps and other items as badly needed after the disaster. The demand of Japanese citizens for footwear products will gradually expand with the normalization of life and the recovery of the national economy.

However, due to the impact of disasters, China's shoe companies in Japan may also receive many uncertain factors such as logistics channels, exchange rate changes and policy changes after Japan's earthquake.

Pan Pingping, deputy director of the Wenzhou Municipal Bureau of foreign trade and economic cooperation, said: "judging from the commodity category of Wenzhou's import and export, Japan may not be affected by the earthquake in the short term.

But with the crisis in the nuclear power plant under control and Japan's entry into the post disaster reconstruction, whether Japan will introduce some new trade policies, whether the cost of logistics will increase and whether other related chain reactions will occur will need further attention.

At present, Chinese shoe companies can do not only pay close attention to the trade with Japan, but also communicate with Japanese customers and formulate corresponding policies for the current situation of Japanese customers, such as preferential price measures, or contact with customers, understand the demand and make stock in advance, so as to help Japanese customers overcome difficulties and establish long-term and friendly cooperative relations.

This not only highlights the national feelings of China, but also lays a solid foundation for the long-term development of China's footwear industry.