Sock Suspenders

Datang Socks center of innovation and industrial zone development


The three-hour drive away from Shanghai Zhuji socks together over 200 companies, Datang town to be the center of this region produces a third of socks on the planet.

Secretary Datang town party, said Yuan Zhigang, Datang Hosiery driving more than 20 million people in employment, the local average, each household has eight sets of socks, residents per capita net income of 70% directly or indirectly, hosiery and related industries. Along this area, everyone can walk the streets to find a pair of socks to produce anything.

In 2005, the U.S., "Los Angeles Times reported that Zeng Yi Tang City as an example, the advantage of China was well beyond cheap equipment, raw materials and labor, These socks area of industrial clusters is a single production facility, the providers, manufacturers and entrepreneurs are concentrated in a park in achieving economies of scale, can drive innovation.

However, Yuan Zhigang told Xinhua that local producers in the concerns of the textile trade friction socks began last year. Datang socks increase the volume of exports this year, lower prices, the business sector has been put on warning local anti-dumping has been issued.

Although one of the most local level executives, Yuan Zhigang Quedui relations China-US trade are very concerned. "Visit (U.S. President) Barack Obama in China, there is no clear commitment to minimize the use of trade remedies." Yuan Zhigang said: "I do not want the problems of trade with China American, in order not to affect the lives of workers. "

Factory orders assigned to the family business for socks trade friction has been a painful experience. 1999, Datang Group plant in Amway products exported from the United States and Europe this year has been lifted quota restrictions. In 2006, Amway scale export 30 million pairs of socks, one million pairs of quotas.

Amway group, Knitting Factory Director Wuwei Yong said the businesses it has 500 workers, is also related to Datang Local 100 plants of the family, but because exports have been limited, the stocks can not be quickly absorbed of these plants in the family had to suspend the partnership.

Statistics Center of China Textile Data Industry Association show that the first three quarters of this year, Chinese textile and clothing received from the EU Rapid Alert System for Non-Food 153 date alert notification, an increase of 6.29 times. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission textiles and apparel from China has issued a total of 21 since the recall, an increase of 10.53%.

Industry insiders estimate that receive a large number of labor force, China's exports rebound in textile and clothing, may be the next to meet one of the industries of trade frictions.

"Mills family and business cooperation, to reduce the cost of knitting socks to limit the ups and downs of the market, but businesses do not buy as many machines to support many people, the cost would have fallen, "Wu Weiyong said:" If the U.S. really brought anti-dumping, we'll just appearance, telling the Americans the secret of cheap Chinese socks. "

According to statistics, Americans spend an average of socks per person per year on the money up to 78 U.S. dollars, according to the current export of Datang socks U.S. $ 0.3 per base pair, all Americans each year may have to buy 260 pairs of socks.

These data allow these may never be any chance of going to the United States, hosiery workers, very surprised, because they want to put on a pair of socks a few years. "In any case, nobody will be barefoot on a cold day, so always be those who need cheap Chinese socks.