Wenzhou Customs targets leather goods smugglers
In a bid to curb the illegal trading of leather goods, Wenzhou Customs is to strengthen its anti-smuggling measures.
According to the China Leather Industry Association (CLIA), five serious cases of trafficking totalling Y300 million ($36.3 million) were seized by the city’s Customs officials between June-December 2003.
Officials estimate, however, that in the past three years the volume of smuggled leather goods totalled a massive Y19.2 million ($2.34 million).
The city’s largest leather market is in Qu xi Town. Since strict anti-smuggling measures were introduced in this district, daily trading has fallen 10%.
The number of leather merchants in the town has also fallen from 1,000 to just 100. The market administrator, Mr Lu Xiu Qing, attributes the decline to a slump in the availability of hides.
Imports of wet blue hides and finished leather, meanwhile, are booming - in September imports rose 52.3% year-on-year and during January-October they went up 68.8% to Y107.6 million ($13 million).
