Zhejiang Jiaxing fasteners seek steady development in a tough export environment

In recent years, the ratio of the unit price of imported fastener products to the unit price of exports has been increasing, and the ratio in the past two years actually exceeded eight times. In 2007, we used 56.95% of the amount of foreign exchange earned on fasteners. The number of fasteners with a export volume of 6.81% shows that China's fastener industry is still a developing industry. It is large and not strong, and it has a big gap with the developed countries of the United States, Japan, and Europe.

Although faced with difficulties in employment, high labor costs, energy shortages, large fluctuations in raw material prices, and inflation, in 2011, the fastener industry in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, remained relatively stable.

In fact, the fastener industry in China has undergone severe tests in 2011, and most companies are unable to do their job alone.

Exports gradually shift to emerging markets Data from the Jiaxing Fasteners Import & Export Enterprises Association shows that last year, the total import and export of fasteners in the city was 1,046.55 million US dollars, an increase of 30.8% year-on-year, including exports of 102.346 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 30.9. %. In addition, Jiaxing fastener exports accounted for 5% of the city's total exports, representing an increase of 1 percentage point over the same period last year.

According to analysis by the Jiaxing Fasteners Import & Export Association, last year the fastener exports of the city showed five major characteristics.

First, the export growth rate is higher than the average increase of Jiaxing City and Zhejiang Province. Data show that last year its fastener export growth rate was higher than the city's and the province's export growth rate of 10, 11 percentage points.

Second, the export market is dominated by Europe and the United States, and exports to Malaysia are weakening. Different from before, the export market structure of fasteners in Jiaxing City is gradually shifting from the developed markets in Europe, America, Japan and Japan to the emerging markets.

Last year, fastener exports to Europe and the United States market reached US$ 436.29 million, accounting for 42.63% of total exports. Among them, the amount of exports to the EU and the United States were US$22.397 million and US$213.32 million, respectively, accounting for 29.63% and 30.70% of the total Jiaxing fastener exports.

Zhang Feng, Secretary General of Jiaxing Fasteners Import & Export Enterprises Association, told reporters that due to the anti-dumping effects of Europe and the United States, the total amount of fasteners import and export last year was only just restored to the level of 2007 and 2008, “and many industries are far away. Over the peak of 2008."

He judged that, under normal circumstances, the total import and export of fasteners in Jiaxing last year should reach more than US$1.3 billion. “Anti-dumping in Europe and the United States has directly destroyed the potential for growth in imports and exports.”

During the same period, due to the EU’s impact on tax avoidance for fasteners exported from Malaysia, Jiaxing’s exports to Malaysia last year was only US$14.06 million, a decrease of 52.74% year-on-year.

Third, steel fasteners are the main export products, and general trade plays a dominant role in export trade. Last year, the city’s export of steel fasteners reached US$101.865 million, an increase of 31.05% year-on-year, accounting for 99.5% of the total fastener exports; the amount of fastener products exported to the general trade was US$959.24 million, an increase from the same period last year. 30.88%, accounting for 93.73% of Jiaxing's total fastener exports.

Fourth, the number of large exporters has increased significantly. According to Zhang Feng, last year, the export value of two fastener companies in the city reached more than 60 million US dollars, while the figure was zero in the same period of the previous year. The two enterprises, Zhejiang Dongming Stainless Steel Products Co., Ltd. and Jinyi Industry (601002), had total exports of US$12.04 million, accounting for 11.8% of the total fastener exports of the city; in addition, enterprises with export value of more than US$10 million have achieved 22 homes, an increase of 6 over the same period the previous year.

Fifth, the price of fasteners' export products has picked up. This was also confirmed by Feng Jinlu, president of the Fasteners Branch of China General Motors Industry Association. He told reporters that in the first half of 2011, China’s fastener exports increased by 21.57% year-on-year, of which export value increased by 42.6% year-on-year, and average export unit price reached US$1721/ton, a year-on-year increase of 16.52%. "This means that the added value of our export products is increasing."

With the acceleration of the transformation and upgrading of the fastener industry in China, related companies in Jiaxing have also increased the export of high-end fastener products, thereby increasing the export prices of the products. But there is another factor that is crucial, namely the rise in the price of raw materials. It is understood that last year, the number of fastener products exported to the city was 715516 tons, the average unit price reached 1430.4 US dollars / ton, compared with 1193.7 US dollars / ton in the same period the previous year increased by 20 percentage points.

The situation in 2012 is still severe. “The overall situation of the fastener industry this year is still weak due to insufficient demand.” Zhang Feng thinks that the current industry is still facing severe challenges.

First of all, monetary tightening, corporate loans are difficult, and funding is scarce. Some fastener enterprises have failed to collect their loans in time due to the breakage of the capital chain, or some of the investments are not clear enough, causing the fronts to pull too long and getting caught in a dilemma.

Second, high labor costs, energy shortages, large fluctuations in raw material prices, and inflation issues all plague the development of the industry.

At the same time, domestic consumer demand is also decreasing. Since the State Council promulgated the “State of the Four” in December 2009, the government’s regulation of the real estate market has not been relaxed. The downturn in the real estate market has actually caused a shrinkage in the domestic demand market, leading to a significant reduction in the demand for fastener products in the domestic market.

In addition, the European and American economies are sluggish, and the global economy has slowed down.

The European and American markets are the major exporters of fasteners in Jiaxing. Until now, due to the haze of the financial crisis, the European and American markets are unlikely to recover in the short term, and the financial crisis in Europe, Spain, Italy, etc. Continuing to spread, these have caused the economic downturn in related countries, sharp decline in consumer demand, coupled with changes in exchange rates and export policies, have brought tremendous pressure on companies.

Faced with the severe situation, the state adopts active fiscal measures to increase investment and stimulate domestic demand. Four trillion yuan of investment will promote the development of our society and economy. In particular, large investments in railways and infrastructure will bring steel, infrastructure, and machinery. The development of related industries has made up for the decline in the share of exports.