"Ninety percent of the shops in the market are open. Compared with before, the business operators started work earlier after the festival this year, and they are more concentrated. I also saw a lot of 'foreign faces' in the market." Making zippers in Yiwu International Trade City Mr. Zheng, the business owner, told Red Star Capital Bureau that after the opening of the trade city on February 2, the market showed signs of recovery, which boosted his confidence.

　　Yiwu International Trade City is the largest small commodity wholesale market in the world, known as the "World Supermarket".

At present, the market operating area is more than 6.4 million square meters, with 75,000 booths and more than 2.1 million kinds of commodities.

　　Jewelry shops are almost open

　　In the past few days, after Mr. Zheng visited several districts in Yiwu Trade City, he found that stores selling jewelry, toys, stationery and other products had a relatively large number of customers.

　　Ms. Zhang, a business owner who mainly sells pens and stationery, has a store in the third district of Yiwu International Trade City.

She told Red Star Capital Bureau that 70% of the pens produced by her company are for foreign trade and 30% are for domestic sales.

With the recovery of consumption, the business of physical stores in China has improved.

Ms. Zhang feels that there are more customers coming to the physical store to purchase goods than in the same period last year.

　　"Two days before the opening of the market, domestic customers are the main purchasers in the market." Ms. Zhang revealed that the current domestic orders received are 20,000 to 30,000 yuan. The domestic orders are not large, but the number of customers is large.

　　Ms. Zhang told the Red Star Capital Bureau that during this period of time, the store had a situation where the supply of domestic orders was cut off. "A year ago, the factory closed early, and the store's inventory was not much. Can't keep up."

　　The store of Ms. Li, the business owner, also ran out of stock.

Ms. Li is in the jewelry business and is currently busy arranging her own factory to produce goods.

　　Various signs of recovery in domestic consumption gave operators hope at the opening of the market.

"I saw that almost every jewelry store that sells domestically is open, and the business is good." Ms. Zhou, who is also in the jewelry business, said.

　　The number of resident foreign businessmen exceeds 10,000, a year-on-year increase of 20%

　　In terms of foreign trade, since the opening of the market, Ms. Li can see foreign businessmen in the store looking for jewelry almost every day.

"On-site orders are from old customers, and new customers need to do more market research." Ms. Li said.

　　Red Star Capital Bureau learned that under normal circumstances, if foreign businessmen want to purchase a certain product, they will visit all the stores related to the product in Yiwu International Trade City.

Familiar with the latest market trends, compare prices with multiple parties, and place an order on the basis of the best.

　　At present, the number of foreign businessmen who come to Yiwu International Trade City has not fully recovered to the normal level.

However, Ms. Zhang, the operator of Haohao Pen Co., Ltd., has confidence in this year's foreign trade market.

"Foreign businessmen are applying for visas. It will be much easier for them to come to the market to see the goods, and the order sales will increase."

　　According to the statistics of the entry-exit management department, at present, the number of resident foreign businessmen in Yiwu has reached more than 10,000, a year-on-year increase of 20% compared with last year when the market opened, and the number is still increasing.

　　Ms. Zhang's foreign clients are mainly from the Middle East, Africa and other regions.

During the epidemic, old customers basically ordered through WeChat.

Customers in Africa mainly rely on foreign trade companies to contact them.

She found that the effect of online communication was not ideal.

The most direct feedback is that customers in Africa are taking less goods.

　　Operators: foreign trade orders are generally stable

　　Talking about the current situation, the Red Star Capital Bureau noticed that the overall feeling of the operators is: "Whether it is domestic sales or foreign trade, the opening of the market this year has improved, and the market demand is still there."

　　In addition, due to the long-term contact between business operators and old customers, the overall order is still stable, and the original sales ratio of domestic sales and foreign trade basically remains unchanged.

　　In this regard, Liu Guohong, vice president of the China (Shenzhen) Comprehensive Development Research Institute, analyzed that many small commodities belong to niche markets, the market capacity is not large, and there are not many international competitors.

The domestic scale and market have been established, the cost has been greatly reduced, and it is normal to show super stability and competitiveness.

"The production standardization of some small commodities is not high. The core enterprises of the industrial chain are located in China. It is difficult to transfer the industrial chain. Once agglomeration is formed, it will be difficult to be replaced internationally." Liu Guohong said.

　　According to Bai Ming, deputy director of the International Market Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, some countries in Southeast Asia may have an advantage in terms of price, and the advantage of Yiwu International Trade City lies in its "small scale and variety". Precipitation, the industrial chain is more complete, and the market's response ability is faster.

　　Yiwu Customs data shows that in the past 2022, Yiwu's total import and export value was 478.8 billion yuan, an increase of 22.7% compared with 2021; of which exports were 431.64 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18%.

Chengdu Commercial Daily-Red Star News reporter Yu Yao Lu Yuejia