廣交會(huì)見證中國出口商憂郁心情

A recent surge in the price of garlic, the result ofbad weather and fervent speculation, ought to begood news for Chinese exporters like E-Sunrisegroup.

惡劣天氣與狂熱投機(jī)導(dǎo)致近期大蒜價(jià)格暴漲，這對(duì)像E-Sunrise集團(tuán)這樣的中國出口商來說應(yīng)該是好消息。

But Gong Yiqiang, business manager for the Jiangsuprovince-based agricultural company, says sales aredown 30 per cent so far this year because of a dropin global demand.

但這家江蘇農(nóng)業(yè)企業(yè)的業(yè)務(wù)經(jīng)理鞏義強(qiáng)(音)表示，由于全球需求下滑，今年迄今銷售額下降了30%。

“We mostly export to Latin America and Southeast Asia and countries there are havingproblems,” he says, highlighting the circular connections that are weakening world trade.

他表示：“我們主要出口拉丁美洲、東南亞地區(qū)，而這些地區(qū)的國家正遇到麻煩。”他強(qiáng)調(diào)，這種循環(huán)關(guān)系正在削弱世界貿(mào)易。

The slowdown of China’s long construction boom has hit commodity-producing nations likeIndonesia and Brazil particularly hard, in turn shrinking their appetite for made-in-Chinaproducts from garlic to jeans.

中國長期建筑投資熱的放緩對(duì)印度尼西亞、巴西等大宗商品生產(chǎn)國造成了尤為嚴(yán)重的沖擊，這反過來減少了他們對(duì)從大蒜到牛仔褲的中國產(chǎn)品的需求。

Beyond these troubled emerging markets, global demand remains tepid, with Europestruggling but some signs of a recovery in the US.

除了這些陷入困境的新興市場，全球需求也依然疲軟，歐洲在苦苦掙扎，美國則出現(xiàn)了一些復(fù)蘇跡象。

So although Chinese government data show a tentative pick-up in manufacturing over the pastcouple of months, buoyed by easy credit, E-Sunrise and fellow exporters attending the nation’sbiggest trade show remain concerned about the future.

因此，雖然中國官方數(shù)據(jù)顯示，在寬松信貸的推動(dòng)下，過去兩個(gè)月制造業(yè)展現(xiàn)出初步回暖，但參加中國最大規(guī)模貿(mào)易展的E-Sunrise及其他出口商仍對(duì)未來表示擔(dān)憂。

More than a dozen factory executives interviewed at the twice-yearly Canton Fair in Guangzhouall warned of difficult trading conditions, particularly in Europe. A few said they had seen amodest improvement in US demand this year but not enough to offset the weaknesselsewhere.

在廣州每年舉行兩屆的廣交會(huì)(Canton Fair)上，接受采訪的十幾位企業(yè)高管都對(duì)艱難的貿(mào)易環(huán)境發(fā)出警告，特別是在歐洲。他們中一些人表示，已經(jīng)看到今年美國的需求略有提升，但這不足以抵消其他地區(qū)的疲軟。

With buyers coming from all over the world and thousands of manufacturers offering everythingfrom buttons and zips to food products and electronics, the Canton Fair is a barometer of thestate of global demand and of China’s important manufacturing industry.

匯聚了來自世界各地的采購商以及成千上萬家提供從紐扣、拉鏈到食品、電子產(chǎn)品的制造商，廣交會(huì)可謂反映全球需求和中國重要制造業(yè)狀況的晴雨表。

More than 185,000 international traders attended the fair, which ran for three weeks beforeclosing on Thursday — an increase of less than 1 per cent compared with the fair in spring lastyear. The value of deals agreed also rose very slightly, to $28bn.

本屆為期3周的廣交會(huì)于周四閉幕，參會(huì)的境外采購商逾18.5萬人，比去年的春交會(huì)增加不到1%。成交額也僅略有上升，至280億美元。

Xu Bing, vice-chairman of the Canton Fair, said that despite the stabilisation, the outlook forglobal demand was still “weak”, with China’s factories facing an “uncertain and unstable”future.

中國對(duì)外貿(mào)易中心副主任徐兵表示，雖然保持了穩(wěn)定，但全球需求前景依然“疲軟”，中國工廠面臨“不確定、不穩(wěn)定”的未來。

Exporters say they remain under pressure to cut prices and minimum order sizes to securecontracts.

中國出口商表示，他們?nèi)悦媾R通過降價(jià)及壓低最小訂單規(guī)模以獲得合同的壓力。

Xiangxing group, a luggage maker from Fujian province, slashed wholesale prices of itsbusiness backpacks from $10 to $7 each last year but is still finding it difficult to win big orders.

去年，祥興福建箱包集團(tuán)(Xiangxing)將商務(wù)背包的批發(fā)價(jià)從每個(gè)10美元降至7美元，但仍發(fā)現(xiàn)難以獲得大訂單。

“Our minimum order size is 500 pieces but potential customers are afraid in these conditionsso they only want to buy 100 or 200,” says Lin Dan, a salesman for the company. “That’s hardfor us to justify because we are a scale business.”

“我們的最小訂單規(guī)模是500個(gè)，但出于對(duì)當(dāng)前形勢的擔(dān)憂，潛在客戶只想購買100或200個(gè)，”祥興箱包銷售員林丹(音)說，“這讓我們很難接單，因?yàn)槲覀冏龅氖且?guī)模業(yè)務(wù)。”

It is equally tough for garment producers such as Orient International, which suppliesinternational brands like Zara and Hennes & Mauritz.

對(duì)東方國際(Orient International)等服裝生產(chǎn)商而言，處境同樣艱難。東方國際為Zara、H&M(Hennes & Mauritz)等國際品牌供貨。

Leila Ma, a sales executive at the Shanghai-based group, says falling profits at H&M werea bad sign for the whole industry.

這家上海公司的銷售主管Leila Ma表示，H&M 利潤下降對(duì)于整個(gè)行業(yè)是一個(gè)不好的征兆。

“When even a giant ship is sinking slowly, it will affect everyone,” she says. “Some very cheapbrands like Primark area still doing well but their prices are so low that it is difficult for us tomake money producing for them.”

她說：“連一艘巨輪都開始慢慢下沉?xí)r，每個(gè)人都會(huì)受到影響。一些非常便宜的品牌，比如Primark，情況仍然很好，但它們的價(jià)格實(shí)在太低了，為他們供貨很難讓我們賺到錢。”

Amid the overall gloom, there were some bright spots.

不過在一片慘淡中，還是有一些亮點(diǎn)。

Executives say sportswear and equipment is still doing relatively well because of the growingfocus in many countries on health and fitness.

高管們表示，運(yùn)動(dòng)服和運(yùn)動(dòng)裝備表現(xiàn)仍然相對(duì)不錯(cuò)，因?yàn)樵S多國家都越來越重視健康和健身。

“People are cutting back on jumpers but they are still willing to spend a lot of money on theirNike shoes,” says Ms Ma.

Leila Ma說：“人們削減了套頭衫的開支，但仍愿意花大價(jià)錢買耐克(Nike)鞋。”

Lin Hongbing, who owns a backpack factory in Fujian province, is tapping into the trend with arange of waterproof bags designed for joggers, hikers and campers.

福建一家背包工廠的老板林紅冰(音)利用這一趨勢，推出一系列為慢跑、徒步旅行和露營設(shè)計(jì)的防水包。

She says that sales of her Osah-branded backpacks are rising by more than 35 per cent everyyear, albeit from a small base, driven by demand in Europe and, particularly, the US.

林紅冰表示，在歐洲、特別是美國需求的帶動(dòng)下，她的Osah牌背包的銷售額正以35%以上的增幅逐年上升(盡管基數(shù)較小)。

“To succeed in this market you don’t necessarily need to be too creative but you need to bespecialised,” she adds.

她說：“要在這個(gè)市場上取得成功，你不需要太多創(chuàng)意，但你需要專業(yè)。”

Several other manufacturers also say that they have seen signs of improvement in the US.

其他幾家制造商也表示他們已看到美國市場好轉(zhuǎn)的跡象。

Ceng Jun, sales director at Shenzhen-based Comix, which sells stationery and office supplies tothe likes of Staples, Tescoand Walmart, is hoping that sales will grow slightly this year becauseof the US recovery.

深圳齊心集團(tuán)(Comix)主要向史泰博(Staples)、樂購(Tesco)和沃爾瑪(Walmart)等銷售文具和辦公用品，該公司銷售總監(jiān)曾軍(音)希望在美國經(jīng)濟(jì)復(fù)蘇的帶動(dòng)下，今年銷售額能有所增長。

Roger Park, president of Hua Jia Silk, which sells fabric and garments to international fashionbrands such as Ted Baker, Zara and All Saints, says that “while last year was pretty bad, weexpect this year to be better because sales are up in the US and Europe”.

華佳絲綢(Hua Jia Silk)是Ted Baker、Zara和All Saints等國際時(shí)裝品牌的面料及服裝供貨商，該公司總裁Roger Park表示：“雖然去年很糟糕，但我們預(yù)計(jì)今年會(huì)好轉(zhuǎn)，因?yàn)槊绹蜌W洲的銷售額都呈上升趨勢。”

But, as he rushes off to pitch to a potential buyer, he adds that it is still a struggle tosurvive.

但他在趕著去招呼一位潛在買家時(shí)匆匆表示仍要為生存而戰(zhàn)。

“Our labour costs keep rising so we have to do what we can to cut expenses elsewhere and findnew customers willing to pay more for higher quality products,” he says.

他說：“我們的勞動(dòng)力成本持續(xù)上漲，所以我們必須盡可能地在其他地方削減開支，并找到愿意花更多錢買更高質(zhì)量產(chǎn)品的新客戶。”