Chinese factories receive big orders for Christmas

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Chinese factories receive big orders for Christmas

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The Chinese factories have been given orders in advance for the Christmas products.

03 October,2011 01:31 pm

Christmas comes early for Chinese factories involved in churning out everything from trees to decorations which are sold around the world.It may be months till the Christmas holidays but Chinese factories are running full steam ahead to fulfill orders for the festive goods ordered by the worlds Christmas stores.Workers in the eastern Chinese manufacturing city of Yiwu were working hard in the autumn months of September and October to finish making Christmas trees, lighting and other gifts before the shipping deadline.Concerns for the health of the global economy with a sluggish American market and worries about the European debt crisis are having an effect on Chinas massive manufacturing sector.Chinas manufacturing sector contracted for a third consecutive month in September, suggesting that the worlds second-largest economy is not immune to global headwinds.Growing signs of a slowdown in China have prompted concerns that the country that has been the motor of global growth in recent years will not be able to provide as much of a counterweight to the faltering economies of Europe and the United States.Meantime, such concerns are not dampening the festive mood of the manufactures of Christmas goods this year.Factory owners said they pushed to produce their products early after Chinese manufacturers suffered greatly during a collapse in global demand starting from the 2008 economic crisis.Their factory, with over 200 workers, has been making Christmas trees to export to markets in Europe and the United States for over ten years.China, which has become a factory to the world, is especially vulnerable to fading demand from the United States and Europe, still its two biggest export markets despite its effort to diversify.A pick-up in factory prices, meanwhile, underscored the challenges facing Chinese policymakers as they seek to bring stubbornly high inflation under control.It is these domestic problems that are worrying Chinese exporters this year as inflation has led many Chinese workers to look for better paying jobs closer to their homes and away from the traditional coastal manufacturing cities such as Yiwu. The government-led tightening of credit to stave off inflation is affecting funding for small and medium businesses.Chinas annual inflation pulled back to 6.2 percent in August from a three-year high of 6.5 percent in July and is widely expected to cool steadily for the rest of 2011.This is a concern for everyone from the factory owner to its army of workers making the Christmas products for the world.Chinese leaders, including Premier Wen Jiabao, have repeatedly emphasised that fighting inflation remains the top priority despite the global malaise.The central bank is holding off further policy tightening amid jitters about a global downturn.But at the same time, it is unlikely to ease policy soon for fear of re-igniting price pressures and investment frenzy by local governments.Government data showed Chinas exports in August pulled back from a record high and the pace of expansion slowed from the 37.7 percent rate recorded in January, government data showed. But the slowdown has been modest and gradual so far, due to resilient domestic demand.