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Firms turn to home market as exports plummet

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-03-23 13:40

BEIJING -- For some Chinese trade companies reeling as their export markets wither in the financial crisis, the Seventh Cavalry has arrived in the shape of the home market.

File photo shows a woman looking at stuffed toys at a supermarket in Chengdu, in China's southwestern province of Sichuan. [Agencies]

Come Back to Life

"My company got 420,000 yuan (about US$61,500) of sales here, enough to pay another two-month's of wages for workers," said Zhao Jianmin, chairman of Yiyun Textile Co., Ltd. on the First Beijing Domestic and Foreign Trade Negotiation Fair Friday.

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The needlework company based in east China's Shandong Province used to export 95 percent of its product to Europe before its sale slumped since November. In February, Zhao even considered filing for bankruptcy protection for his company.

"I find Beijing consumers like our hand-made curtains, and my company started to produce them," said Zhao," I will also go around the country to look for agents who could help us in domestic market."

Another company at the fair was Beijing Richuang Electronic Appliance Co., Ltd, a company focusing on yoghurt machine export. It has sold more than 4,000 machines for more than 600,000 yuan (about US$88,000) during 12 days on the fair.

"Only when the sample machines on our booths were snapped up in hours, did I know our products are so welcomed domestically," smiled Zhang Hong, the general manager.

The company also signed a contract with Wumart Group, a leading supermarket in Beijing.

"The yoghurt machines have been sold in 70 branches of Wumart, with average sale volume topping 20,000 per week. It's the bestseller of our small appliances," said Fu Yu, Wumart's PR manager.

Fu said it is a good chance for Wumart to make deals with trade companies, because of their products' high quality, high-tech characters and low prices. For example, Richuang's yoghurt machines' export prices range from US$20 to US$100, while their domestic prices are 90 to 400 Yuan (about US$13 to US$59).

Walk With Two Legs 

Overseas demands for "Made-in-China" have been diving since the economic crisis spread to every corner of the global market in late 2008. According to the general Administration of Customs, China's export in February plunged 25.7 percent year on year, marking a downtrend for four successive months.

"Under the current pressure, more Chinese trade enterprises will learn to 'walk with two legs' -- domestic and foreign markets, and become more risk-resistant," said Mei Xinyu, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of commerce.

Mingle Sportswear Co., Ltd. in Quanzhou, a leading sportswear producer in  southeast China's Fujian Province, used to export most of its sports suits and shoes. However, the company's present hub is the domestic market.

Guo Hui, Mingle's marketing manager, said the company will invest 20 million yuan (about US$3 million) in domestic marketing and sales network building. Up to now, the company has more than 1,900 stores or end-customer outlets across the country, and 90 percent of its products go domestic.

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