Following a decline in 2006, due to EU anti-dumping duties footwear, exports from Ningbo, the largest port in China’s Zhejiang province, have begun to rebound. According to statistics released by customs authorities, the footwear hub exported 3.55 million of pairs of shoes in January worth $ 21.8 million, 4.5% higher in terms of volume and 4.6% higher in terms of value, compared with December.

During the period October to December 2006 footwear exports had fallen 21.2% to 5.92 million pairs of shoes, compared with the same period in 2005, but these losses have now been reduced as footwear manufacturers have taken various measures to deal with the situation such as moving production to other countries, restructuring their products and moving into the production of higher end markets.