According to a new report on the production of leather garments in China—published by Global Sources—87% of mainland China's leather garment manufacturers plan to raise export prices in 2007.

"Due to higher import taxes, the price of raw leather shipped into mainland China is projected to rise this year," said Global Sources' general manager of Content Development Michael Kleist. "Manufacturers also expect to be hit by the revaluation of the yuan and rising labour costs.”

Among the Chinese leather garment manufacturers surveyed for the report, 6% said they plan to raise prices by 10% to 15%; 52% expect price increases of between 5% and 10%; and 42% plan to raise prices by less than 5%.

Chinese manufacturers also told researchers that they plan to move away from their traditional export markets such as Russia in order to target new higher end markets such as the EU and USA. 40% said they would target exports to the EU; 33% plan to focus on the USA; and12% are planning to target Asia. The remaining 15% said they plan to focus on non-EU European countries, the Middle East, Africa and other regions.