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Chinese shoemakers are being urged to focus on the Central Asian market in a bid to avoid anti-dumping duties levied by the European Union (EU).
"Chinese shoemakers will find more customers in the Central Asian market since made-in-China shoes are more competitive compared to their counterparts,"said a trade representative from a shoe company in Wenzhou, located in East China's Zhejiang Province.
Many Central Asian shoemakers, especially those from Tajikistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, are now struggling to expand production due to ageing equipments and outdated technology, he said.
"This has provided a very good opportunity for Chinese shoemakers keen on exporting products overseas. Moreover, Chinese shoes are favored by people in Central Asia since living standards there have improved relatively."
According to official statistics, about 98 percent of the shoes available in Central Asian markets are imported, of which more than 80 percent come from China.
A large number of Chinese shoe manufacturers, including Guangdong-based Shenfa Shoes Co Ltd and Qingdao Double Star Shoes Co Ltd of eastern Shandong Province, have already entered the Central Asian market.
"Although there is a huge demand for made-in-China shoes in Central Asia, Chinese manufacturers need to adjust their strategies to produce shoes that are really suitable for people there,"the representative said, suggesting that domestic producers launch joint market survey and promotional events in Central Asia.
Some representatives of shoemakers from Zhejiang, one of the nation's largest shoe manufacturing centers, said such a market survey should be headed by local governments or trade associations.
"For Chinese shoemakers, innovation, rather than the existing production mode, is of greater importance to find customers in the Central Asian market,"the representative from Wenzhou added.
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