Zhejiang province takes the lead in Chinese production stakes
Statistics provided by the Zhejiang Provincial Leather Industry Association in eastern China show the region’s leather industry is forging ahead.
Against the backdrop of zero growth nationally, sales of medium and large-sized leather enterprises in the cities of Haining and Wenzhou totalled 32.35 billion yuan ($ 3.92 billion) last year – an increase of 37.9% compared with the year before – generating taxable income worth 2.5 billion yuan.
Over 600,000 people work in the province’s 8000 leather enterprises while the creation of specialty leather production zones in Wenzhou and Haining look set to increase the pace of development further. Wenzhou’s ‘China Shoe Capital Garden’ for instance was recently extended to 2.4 million square metres from the previous 1.13 million square metres, with Haining producing 40 million leather garments every year and Wenzhou 300 million pairs of leather shoes.
Zhejiang accounts for half the country’s output of branded footwear, with 5 of the 10 brands awarded "Kings of Leather Shoe" status by the China Leather Industry Association (CLIA) in 2001 being based in the city.
