footwear

The world's largest producer of casual footwear, China has more than 4,000 manufacturers, about 400 of which export directly. The country accounts for 60 percent of world output in the line. Exports for 2003 reached US$13 billion and 6 billion pairs. Twenty-percent export growth has been sustained in each of the past three years, and a stronger increase of 25 percent to 30 percent is expected in 2005 after quotas in the EU are lifted. China's casual footwear export industry produces walking and comfort shoes, sandals and clogs, and casual boots. Products are made mostly from genuine and synthetic leather, PU, PVC, nylon mesh and canvas. Besides offering prices lower than suppliers in their three main competing centers — India, Vietnam and Indonesia — China makers are improving quality and developing value-added designs to attract more orders. The main markets of China footwear suppliers are North America with 48 percent of sales, the EU at 17 percent and Asia with 13 percent. The biggest individual destination country by far is the United States, which absorbs US$5 billion worth of China made footwear annually. Japan is a distant second at US$900 million per year, followed by Russia at US$600 million and the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates with about US$200 million each.