Warning from the "Segye Christmas Tree Gongjang": "Worse than during Corona"

Warning signs of an economic slowdown are emerging in Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province, China, known for supplying 80% of the world's Christmas trees. Orders for trees have not recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels and are even declining compared to last year.

On the 16th, Chinese economic media outlet Caijing reported that wholesale orders for Christmas season products in Yiwu have sharply decreased compared to last year. A wholesaler of Christmas accessories in Yiwu told Caijing, "Orders have not increased compared to last year; rather, they have decreased," adding, "Order volume has dropped by at least one-third."

Last year-end was a chaotic period as China transitioned from zero-COVID to living with COVID. On-site manufacturing factories struggled to operate as scheduled, causing supply and demand to be less smooth than usual. Christmas tree foreign trade merchant Zhu Zujian said, "Orders from Europe and the United States have significantly decreased, while business with Russia and Belt and Road countries has increased," but added, "Overall, orders are down compared to last year and even worse compared to before the pandemic (COVID-19)."

Yiwu is considered the largest supplier exporting miscellaneous goods worldwide. In 2016, based on demand for election supplies during the U.S. presidential election, it predicted the election of President Donald Trump and also gauged social unrest in France through increased orders of yellow safety vests.

A trade company representative told Caijing, "Market weakness is inevitable, and transactions with foreign customers are not easy," explaining that although the initial export target for this year was set at 80 million yuan, only about half of that has been achieved so far.

Interior view of the Yiwu International Wholesale Market in Zhejiang Province, China. (Photo by Kim Hyunjung)

The head of a sock company, whose orders were concentrated 80% in Europe and the United States, said, "Considering the shrinking markets in Europe and the U.S. and the increasing demand from Belt and Road countries, we are directing traffic to the latter," but lamented, "While it is somewhat effective, it is essentially like developing a new market."

According to the General Administration of Customs of China, as of October this year, China's foreign trade exports increased by 0.4% year-on-year in yuan terms, while imports decreased by 0.5%. In dollar terms, exports decreased by 5.6% and imports by 6.5%. Commerce Ministry spokesperson He Yadong said at a briefing, "The fourth quarter is generally the peak season for foreign trade," adding, "It is the final season to accelerate annual trade."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.