In the first-half year, the city\'s total exports had reached $1.24 billion with a year-over-year increase of 65.7%, and both its total amount of exports and amount of increase had ranked as the second place in the province. Especially, the growth amplitude had been increased by over 30 % during the past five months, which showed a bright color of Yichang in the downward trend of global foreign trade and drew much attention of Ministry of Commerce.
According to the analysis the charger of Municipal Bureau of Commerce, in the current context, Yichang city had realized a steady growth of foreign trade, which was benefited by our city to create a foreign trade promotion mechanism, adjustment of relevant national policies, and municipal government optimized the structure of exports, omni-directionally supporting foreign trade enterprises to grow and promoting the stable and healthy development of foreign trade.
To establish a foreign platform
Continuously increasing foreign trade entities
By studying the "half-yearly report" of foreign trade export in Yichang city, one of obvious characteristics was that Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had become the largest trading partner of Yichang. From January to June, the total value of bilateral trade had amounted to $220 million with an increase of 36.3%.Among them, Yichang\'s export was $217 million with an increase of 57.6%.Yichang\'s export to India was $195 million with an increase of 5.8 times. Its export to EU (European Union) was $120 million with an increase of 15.1%.
In addition, the volume of trades between Yichang city and the United States, Japan, Singapore had increased significantly with total import and export values were $150 million, $132 million and $72 million respectively, which had grown for 13.4%, 27.9% and 2.1 times respectively.
Such a kind of growth speed owed its thanks to the foreign trade promoting mechanism established in Yichang during recent years, and this mechanism encouraged enterprises to "Go to the World" and continuously strengthened the platform of opening to the outside world.
On July 1, the second overseas factory of Angel Yeast Co., Ltd had officially signed a contract to establish a yeast project of annual production of 20,000 tons in Russia. As early as 1999 when the company acquired the right to free trade, it began to develop overseas. In 2013, its first overseas sub-company had been completed and put into operation in Egypt, and it is well-run now. It is showed by the latest data that the leading products of Angel Yeast Co., Ltd, yeast and yeast extract, was expected to export with 30% of year-on-year growth amplitude in this first half year.
From August 13th to 15th, various products made their stage pose in Hong Kong International Food Fair, such as Xinding Biotechnology, Zigui Diyuan Canned Food and so on, and "Made in Yichang" amazed the whole fair.
While maintaining rapid growth of backbone products, Yichang city had actively carried out the "open source project" to promote the growth of foreign trade export, omni-directionally supporting the growth and expansion of foreign trade enterprises, optimizing the export structure, and promoting the steady and healthy development of foreign trade. The government established a tutoring mechanism, encouraging those enterprises that had been equipped with certain competitiveness or supplied export products to carry out self-support export or do incubation tutoring. In the first half of this year, there were 17 new export enterprises with a newly increased export volume of $52.19 million.
To release new policy dividend
To motivate new momentum of enterprise development
Chemical products are “competitive” products of export in Yichang, accounting for 42% of export volume all year around. Having been influenced by the adjustment of related national policies, the cancellation of export window phase and the promotion of chemical products refund rate, chemical products had achieved a blowing growth in the whole city for the first half year. According to Zhang Yong, the chief of Foreign Trade Department in Municipal Bureau of Commerce, in the latter half of the year, the amount of increase of chemical products will grow slowly, but it will still maintain a steady trend of growth.
In the second half of 2013, with the advent of ammonium sulfate products, Hubei Sanning Chemical Co., Ltd. had officially begun its self-support export. Just for more than one year, the amount of exports in Sanning Company rapidly increased from the original $8,000.Now, Sanning Co., Ltd had exported various products, such as ammonium sulfate, urea, diamine, ammonium, binary compound fertilizer, etc. Up to July 30th, the total exports products had been amounted to more than 230,000 tons, earning a foreign exchange of $67.71 million.
It is said by Chen Yan, the foreign trade sales manager of Sanning Company, that the reason why the company became an outstanding enterprise of rapid growth in the field of foreign trade export in Yichang, in addition to the development and coming into the market of new products, a main factor was the adjustment of national chemical fertilizer export policies. Especially since the beginning of this year, the export of all varieties will no longer be distinguished as seasons, the export window stage will also be cancelled, so that the exports products of the company will not be affected by tariffs and obviously develop. Chen Yan said, according to the company\'s production and sales, the export speed of growth will slow down and tend to be steady in the latter half of the year.
Hubei Yichang Chemical Holding Co., Ltd. also gained benefit from the favorable policies of increasing the tax refund rate of chemical products. From January to June this year, the company exported of 13,363 tons of pentaerythritol, after the adjustment of tax refund rate, the pentaerythritol had been changed from 9% to 13%, which saved more than $800,000 for Yichang Chemical Co., Ltd.
In addition, sodium tripolyphosphate had been changed from non-refund to 13% of export tax refund rate, and food-grade sodium hexametaphosphate had been changed from original 5% to 9%. Taking the export value of the above three kinds of products as $120 million in Yichang in 2014, after the implementation of new tax refund rate, the total amount of refund and tax-free will increase by $70 million, which had significantly reduced the export costs of chemical enterprises.
Omni-directional supports
A continuously optimized foreign trade environment
In the first half year, private enterprises in Yichang city had maintained a rapid growth. From January to June, the imports and exports of private enterprises in Yichang were $670 million with an increase of 94.1%.Among them, the export was $630 million with an increase of 1.2 times."Most of these companies are facing the difficulties expensiveness of financing, and departments of commerce spent a lot of time and energy to call for banks, insurance agencies and some guarantee companies to finance for the foreign trade enterprise."Zhang Yong said, in fact, this is a market behavior; however, as a supervisor department, it must actively promote and create a development space for small and medium-sized enterprises.
According to Zhang Fa, the manager of Yichang Xiaoxihong Import and Export Trade Co., Ltd., the company had just been officially operated in December last year, and it had achieved a foreign exchange earnings of more than $6 million in this first half year, realizing a sales model of buying across the country and selling around the world. After August, it was a peak season of purchasing fruits, such as oranges and tangerines. If the company wanted to export a lot, it must have a large number of purchasing.
On June 5th, during the export process of a batch of eggs in Zhijiang City Shuangyuan Eggs Trading Co., Ltd, a part of eggs had been broken due to the extrusion of packing cases in the way of transportation, which caused a loss of over 20,000 RMB. However, Yichang Municipal Bureau of Commerce successfully obtained the export credit insurances totally insured by Provincial Bureau of Commerce for more than 70 small and medium-sized enterprises. Since the export credit insurances purchased for Shuangyuan Eggs Trading Co., Ltd had just taken effect on June 3rd, the company would get insurance compensation for free.
Yichang Customs had assigned customs affairs coordinators for those enterprises whose total import and export value had been ranked as top thirty places in Yichang, providing “baby-sitter” services and “extending” the supervisory service of customs. In this February, when China Nuclear Industry 22 Construction Co., Ltd was exporting a batch of goods in a foreign contraction project at Shanghai port, its goods encountered some difficulties in the process of customs clearance. One business councilor had been sent by Yichang Customs to communicate and coordinate with Shanghai Customs and finally helped this company to successfully pass the customs clearance.
Except the support of policy, Yichang commercial departments also actively strived for foreign trade and economies special project fund to inject impetus for export enterprises. In 2014, Yichang City had totally obtained 30.543 million RMB of provincial and municipal foreign trade and economies special project fund and granted all of them to many enterprises. In this first half year, Yichang had also gained 16.13 million RMB of foreign trade and economies special project fund outside the provincial government and the central government. Now, it is carrying out the declaration of alternative projects. (Reporter Wang Suzhi )