China News Service, Huzhou, March 23 (Hu Fengsheng and Hu Yuxuan) Recently, a batch of 656 dining chairs were exported overseas under the supervision of Huzhou Customs. This is the 4,000th batch of furniture exported by Anji, Zhejiang in March. After nearly two years of export trough, Anji, the “hometown of the chair industry” in China, has ushered in a “small upsurge” in furniture exports. According to Huzhou Customs statistics, from January to February 2024, Anji's furniture and spare parts exports were approximately 3.13 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 40.9%, achieving a "good start."
Walking into the exhibition hall of Longwei Furniture, you will find home products exquisitely displayed, including cool gaming chairs, ergonomic office chairs, trendy and fashionable sofas, high-tech lift tables, etc., a dazzling array of system furniture, with the "Bamboo Plastic-based decoration fully demonstrates the characteristics of Anji’s “green home”.
"With the support of customs and other government departments, we have deployed cross-border e-commerce overseas warehouses and shipped goods directly from overseas warehouses, shortening delivery time, reducing logistics costs, and ensuring delivery timeliness. At the same time, compared with the original general trade model, Cross-border e-commerce exports to overseas warehouses require the submission of fewer documents, simpler declarations, and faster logistics and inspection." Ding Chen, general manager of Longwei Furniture, said that in 2023, Longwei's cross-border e-commerce export volume reached 300 million yuan, year-on-year. An increase of 72.9%. In the past two years, benefiting from cross-border e-commerce, companies have continued to increase investment in online channels and actively deployed their own brands overseas.
At present, in Anji, going overseas with independent brands through cross-border e-commerce and other forms has become the focus of competition among home furnishing companies. Furniture companies such as "Longwei" and "Qianglong" have established overseas warehouses and sell their own brands through foreign platforms.
Huzhou Customs staff visited a furniture company. Photo provided by Huzhou Customs
As the country's largest office chair production base, Anji's chair industry output accounts for one-third of the domestic market, and its export volume accounts for one-half of the country's total. After years of development, it has formed a modern industrial cluster with a complete industrial chain and clear division of labor. It is a global leader in terms of production scale, market share and brand influence. For Anji furniture companies that have been dormant for nearly two years, in terms of market development, in addition to cross-border e-commerce, emerging markets have also become new growth engines for furniture exports.
"On the basis of stabilizing the traditional market, this year we have successively participated in expos such as Central and Eastern Europe, China and Russia, and Dubai, focusing on exploring the Middle East and African markets, and developed new products such as massage chairs and smart sofas to meet customer needs." Zhu Guanghui, logistics manager of Henglin Home Furnishing Co., Ltd., said, "We are not familiar with the policy requirements of some new export markets. Thanks to the help of Huzhou Customs, we can keep abreast of foreign policy changes and situations. It will be more convenient for us to explore new markets." We are confident. Currently, our emerging market orders have been scheduled until May, and sales are growing well."
In order to support the transformation and upgrading of furniture enterprises in the jurisdiction and expand exports, Huzhou Customs has designated customs enterprise coordinators to provide "one-on-one" guidance, encourage enterprises to expand cross-border e-commerce export business, and provide on-site guidance and guidance on matters such as cross-border e-commerce declarations. Answer questions. Promote preferential policies such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) and AEO certification based on the company's main trading partners, and achieve rapid issuance of certificates through a single window "cloud issuance", reducing the time for issuing electronic certificates for outbound goods by two-thirds , the timeliness of export inspection has been increased by 60%, helping enterprises achieve a "good start" in exports.
"At present, Anji's furniture exports are picking up, and the future development momentum is good. Huzhou Customs will continue to carry out the 'Commissioner's Policy Delivery Doorstep' activity, continuously improve supervision and services, encourage enterprises to explore markets, expand their 'circle of friends', and empower the development of the furniture industry Speed up," said Du Qing, director of the Huzhou Customs Office in Anji. (over)