outerwear

China produces about 30 percent of global parkas and outerwears supply. The country exported more than 475 million parkas and windbreakers worthUS$3.8 billion in the first 10 months of 2005. Export sales were up 14 percent compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. China suppliers of parkas and outerwears are raising prices by up to 15 percent and taking measures to enhance efficiency in response to the continuing increase in raw material costs and the ongoing labor shortage. A number of makers are also taking steps to improve product quality. One of the most pressing challenges in the industry at present is the soaring cost of raw materials. The majority of fabric and accessories used to make the jackets are petroleum-based. With fluctuating crude oil prices in the world outerwear market, the cost of these materials has increased by as much as 30 percent in the past year. The labor shortage affecting industrialized provinces in China is also a major challenge. The shortage, which was initially limited to Guangdong province, is now also widespread in the provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang, the main production hubs for jackets.