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Yiwu Economic Overview

Yiwu Economic Overview

Vital Statistics (2006)
GDP: RMB35.2 billion
GDP per Capita: RMB50, 148
Economic Growth Rate: 15%
Population: 707,000
FDI: US$139.27 million
Annual Average Wage: RMB35, 231
Government Effectiveness Rating: N/A
2006 Chinese Cities Competitive Rating: N/A

Economic Overview
Yiwu lies at the center of Zhejiang Province. The economic extraversion of Yiwu has allowed the city to become one of the main bases in China for commodities production, export and foreign purchase. The city’s export trade is developing rapidly and product diversification expands each quarter.In 2004, Yiwu ranked number one among the most favored county-level cities in Zhejiang Province and took the lead in modernization. The city now enjoys prefecture-level economic management jurisdiction and has also been awarded the honor of being the key district in the drive for urbanization. The city has won a number of titles including: National Sanitation City, National Sci-tech Advanced City, National Sports Advanced City, National Culturally Advanced City, Provincial Civilized City and Provincial Power City in Education.Yiwu’s Small Commodities Market has attracted merchants from all over China. At present, it has a total operational area of 2.60 million square meters with an annual transaction value of 40 billion RMB, ranking number one among all of China’s trade distribution markets for 8 consecutive years. In 2004, Yiwu won the title “Most Favored Chinese City for Citizens”. It has indeed become a modern, international trade and commercial city with increasing influence both at home and abroad. 

In 2006, Yiwu’s GDP was 35.20 billion RMB, up by 15% from the previous year. The GDP per capita was 50,148 RMB, equal to US$6,300 and one of the highest rates in China. The city’s investment in fixed assets was 13.32 billion RMB.
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Economic Contribution Ratios by Sector
In 2006, the economic contribution ratio of the primary industries including agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and the fisheries, represented 2.7% of GDP; the economic contribution ratio of the secondary and value-added industries and construction represented 46.1%; while the economic contribution ratio of the tertiary sector represented 51.2%.

Composition of GDP (%)

Sector 2000 2003 2006
Primary 5.9 4.2 2.7
Secondary 50.6 52.1 46.1
Tertiary 43.5 43.7 51.2

Foreign Trade Overview
There are general agencies for over 4,000 famous enterprises gathered in the Yiwu market and more than 170 commercial representative offices from more than 30 countries such as the U.S.A., Japan, Sweden and Korea. At present, commodities from Yiwu are exported to all five continents including 187 odd countries and regions. By the end of 2006, 35 Yiwu enterprises had established 46 branches in 16 nations.

In 2006, Yiwu had direct trade and economic exchanges with 178 nations and regions. It completed an import and export volume of US$1.5 billion in 2006 including US$1.35 billion in exports and US$150 million in imports. The number of its foreign trade enterprises increased to 916 in 2006 including 597 in the import and export field.

Yiwu commodities are mainly exported to Asia with 42 nations and regions as destinations and an export value of US$422.61 million. The top ten export nations for Yiwu products are the USA, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Ukraine, South Korea, Germany, Spain, Britain, Panama and Brazil.

Foreign Trade and Cultural Ties
In 2006, Yiwu achieved new milestones in foreign exchange and economic cooperation. In 2006, over 200 groups of foreign governmental delegations investigated the Yiwu marketplace. The city has established a sister city relationship with Seoul, South Korea and built friendly city relationships with the Yangpu District of Shanghai, Sanya, Shuyang County of Jiangsu and Suifenhe County of Heilongjiang.

Yiwu’s Strategic Industries
The trade and commercial industries led by the city’s small commodities market is the leading industry of Yiwu. In 2006, the total transaction volume of the Yiwu market was 41.5 billion RMB ranking first in China.The Yiwu-China Small Commodities Index is the “Dow Jones of China” and began to make its index known in October of 2006. At present, it is known as a key economic indicator in China and is periodically released on financial programs in Hong Kong. The Yiwu Small Commodities Market, with over 400,000 commodities, has the power to influence price trends globally.The city’s exhibition industry is rapidly developing. In 2006, it held 32 expos, up by 29% from 2005 in terms of exhibition scale. As the leader of the Yiwu exhibition industry, the Yiwu International Commodities Fair realized 9.45 billion RMB of exhibition transaction value including US$780 million in foreign trade transaction volume in 2006. The number of foreign merchants has reached 16,000 and the Yiwu International Commodities Fair has become de facto the third largest economic and trade exhibition in China.

In 2006, Yiwu realized 70.74 billion RMB in industrial sales revenue. The city is also home to a robust manufacturing sector producing products such as garments, ornaments, knitted clothing, accessories and fabrics, toys and cultural goods.

Garments
The garment industry of Yiwu really got rolling in the 1980s and has become one of the pillar industries of the city. There are 980 registered enterprises in garment processing and manufacturing. One of the national four “shirt” bases; Dachen Town is named the “Shirt Town of China” and can produce 500,000 pieces daily. Many enterprises in the garment industry have completed strategic adjustments from shirt products to many series of products including western-style clothes, jackets and T-shirts. Dachen Town has many famous brands such as “Neng Da Li”, “Ao Ge” and “Ting De Shuai”. In recent years, the export rate of clothing products in Yiwu hovers around 64%, accounting for 41% of foreign trade for the whole city. The export volume for clothes is increasing year on year, with buyers from the Middle East and Eastern Europe and expanding to Africa, Western Europe, America and Russia.

Ornaments
The Zhejiang Xinguang Ornament Co. Ltd. based in Yiwu is the market leader of the national ornament industry. Since 1982, Yiwu people have sold ornaments in Guangdong and Hong Kong, gaining 20 years of market experience, and cultivating a large number of first-class ornament enterprises in Zhejiang including Xinguang Ornaments Ltd., Qinglin, Linlang, Sunflower, Bei’er and Zhuoyani. Now, there are over 3,800 enterprises engaging in ornament production and operations with an annual production value of 12 billion RMB. The city’s production volume accounts for 70% of the ornament industry in China.

Knitted Clothing, Accessories and Fabrics
Yiwu ranks second in terms of production scale for knitting in the world. It has the capacity for production and processing of eight categories of textiles. There are over 1,500 sock enterprises, 350 underwear enterprises, over 230 zipper enterprises and 10 lacework enterprises with the largest production scale in China. Socks and zippers have become the mainstays of Yiwu’s textile industry.

In 2006, the sales revenue of the city’s underwear market exceeded 7 billion RMB. It has become the largest underwear wholesale market and home to the largest logistics transfer station for underwear in China. Domestic sales account for 60% of the total sales amount and foreign sales 40%, mainly to the Middle East, South Korea and Russia with low-end products.

The city’s zipper industry started in the 1980s. In the 1990s, advanced zipper manufacturing equipment from South Korea and Taiwan were imported to Yiwu in large quantities. In December 1999, the Yiwu Zipper Industrial Association was established. There are 280 zipper manufacturing enterprises, over 80 production enterprises for raw materials and complementary materials for zippers, over 30 zipper mechanical parts enterprises, accounting for 19.5% of the total number of enterprises in the country’s zipper industry. The number of employees in the zipper industry totals over 37,000.

The total production value in 2006 was 5 billion RMB, accounting for 27% of the total amount in China. Exports of zippers accounts for 70% of the national total. Products are mainly exported to the US, Russia, Italy, South America, Viet Nam, Pakistan, Europe and Middle East. The Binwang Zipper Street gathering over 800 stores and salesrooms from home and abroad is the largest zipper market in China and the world. 40% of zipper-related products in China are exported through Yiwu.

Toys
Toys are an integral part of Yiwu’s economic development and one of the industries embodying Yiwu’s market features. Through over 20 years of development, there are now 2,254 enterprises and operators including 400 enterprises with over 20,000 employees. Products are mainly plastic, plush and inflatable with an annual production value of 1.2 billion RMB. There are a number of first-class, branded famous enterprises with independent export rights. Production enterprises include Yiwu Shuanghuan Toys Ltd., Yiwu Zhiduoxing Plastics Ltd., Yiwu Kuge Toys Ltd., Yiwu Little Angle Toys Ltd., Yiwu Jingxin Toys Ltd. and Yiwu Qilin Toys Ltd.

Leading trade enterprises include the Xinrui Toy Co. Ltd. which is the agency for Ultraman, TV series cartoon toys, cartoon toys, assembled and educational toys and the Yiwu Geruite Toy Co. Ltd. which produces electro-motion toys, remote control toys and baby carriages. The products produced by them are preferred by merchants from home and abroad. As relatively large enterprises, their sales network covers various large and medium-sized cities in China and the US, Britain, Japan, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Yiwu is the largest toy distribution place in China. There are 1,584 toy sites in the city’s international commercial and trade center with annual sales revenue of 4 billion RMB or more. Famous toy brands such as “Ultraman”from Guangdong, international brand Barbie, “Double Diamonds” produced by Guangzhou Auldey Company, “Meisida” toys from Fujian, “Goodbaby” baby carriage from Jiangsu, Christmas gifts from Daishan, Ningbo, wooden toys from Yunhe, Zhejiang, electro-motion toys from Yangzhou, Jiangsu have established headquarters for distribution or headquarter agencies in Yiwu.

Over 90% of the varieties of thousands of toys produced by toy production enterprises in Guangzhou and Chenghai, the largest toy production bases in China are sold to more than 100 nations and regions through the Yiwu market. Yiwu’s position as a national toy distribution center is confirmed and it has become a purchasing base for toy buyers home and abroad.

Cultural Goods
New-year paintings and calendars, framed picture art-ware, cultural, educational and sports articles, printing and packaging as well as pen-making are the five pillar industries for cultural goods in Yiwu. The annual production value for the manufacture of pens is 1.6 billion RMB. The sales revenue of cultural, educational and sports articles totaled 5 billion RMB in 2006. At present, there are over 5,000 cultural institutions including 2,000 enterprises in production and processing of cultural goods with a total export value of 15 billion RMB annually. 

Foreign Trade & Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
By the end of 2006, there were 491 foreign-invested enterprises in Yiwu including 169 branches with total investment of US$1.9 billion. In 2006, Yiwu newly established 104 foreign-invested enterprises with utilization of foreign investment of US$299.50 million. Foreign investment is mainly in the wholesale and retail trade, the hospitality sector, manufacturing and textiles. The city has good momentum in utilizing foreign investment in its service industries. It has newly authorized 73 projects with foreign investment in the service industries with investment of US$17.67 million.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, May 9th, 2009 at 9:34 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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