YIWU, Zhejiang, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Lu Jianzhi is quickly tapping her counter trying to work out the accounts of a Chinese customer who has purchased Christmas goods from her store.
In the past, such a task would have ended in October but the weak international market has meant Lu has had to target her Christmas goods to domestic customers this year.
"Foreign tradesmen make enquires in March, and place orders in June. We export goods in September and October," said Lu, a wholesaler in Yiwu City in east China's Zhejiang Province, the country's largest distribution center of small commodities.
"The number of orders from foreign customers dropped by nearly one third this year, so we hope to make up the losses from the domestic market," Lu said.
GLOOMY INTERNATIONAL MARKET
Yiwu has more than 700 enterprises selling Christmas goods. Around 40 percent of Christmas products in the European market are from China, rising to 70 percent when it comes to the American market.
However, almost half of the firms have had to change their marketing strategies due to falling demand.
Wang Liqun, president of the Yiwu Youlide Handicraft Co. Ltd., whose annual exports total more than 30 million yuan (4.8 million U.S. dollars), said contracts with some large supermarkets in cities such as Hangzhou and Nanjing have been a savior.
People in Hainan enjoy warm weather
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