The export business in Yiwu, the country's largest distribution center of small commodities, is growing, but customs clearance efficiency is holding the industry back, Cfi.cn reports.
As the exports of small commodities from Yiwu, a small city in eastern Zhejiang Province, has increased, there has always been a contradiction between trade development and government supervision of the market, said Zhang Handong, director of the International Economy and Trade Research Center of Zhejiang Province.
Inefficient customs clearance is just one obstacle hampering Yiwu's trade development. Smuggling and intellectual property rights infringements have also slowed the city's export industry.
Even if customs picks up its pace, the logistic services in the city must be improved. The designed capacity of the city's international logistics center is only 100,000 TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) per year. Yiwu exported 570,000 TEU containers of goods in 2010, almost six times its capacity.
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China's business press carried the story above on Wednesday.
