Reports are being made about the inevitability of shoe making enterprises in Wenzhou moving out the area as a result of Wenzhou’s expensive land, poor power supply and increasing labour costs.
Zhu Feng, the secretary-general of Wenzhou Leather Industry Association, said there is a possibility that this could happen in the future, and it is becoming a concern that over 100 Wenzhou shoe enterprises could follow Aokang’s suit and set up a new production facility in Bishan.
Zhu said, “Wenzhou’s shoe industry is still developing and its output in 2005 is predicted to exceed 2004’s ¥39.5 billion ($ 4.81 billion).”
But Zhu admitted that many of the shoe-making enterprises were planning to enlarge the capacity of their facilities, but were incapable of purchasing the land. According to the statistics of Wenzhou, under government control the price of non-farming land increased to ¥1500 ($182.7) per square metre because the supply of the land far exceeds the demand. The land price was nearly 10 times more than in the neighbouring provinces of inner China.
