“World’s supermarket” anticipates successful growth in 2024

HANGZHOU After the Spring Festival holiday, Yiwu China Commodity City, dubbed the “world’s supermarket” in Zhejiang province, East China, celebrated the beginning of the new business year on February 21 amid the lively beat of drums and dragon and lion dances. Global traders observed the shows with considerable fascination. Among them was Bijoy George, an Indian entrepreneur who had worked in Yiwu for twenty years and was excited to snap pictures of the vibrant surroundings with his phone. George, who owns a Yiwu trade company that specializes in tools and home goods, expressed hope for the year’s commercial prospects. “Trade collaboration opportunities abound in Yiwu.

After decades of growth, Yiwu, which has around 2.1 million product types, has become an important center for the manufacture and wholesale of small commodities. More than 15,000 merchants from more than 100 nations and regions call the city home. Yiwu Customs records show that the city’s total import and export value increased by 18.2 percent year over year in 2023 to reach 566.05 billion yuan ($78.63 billion). Significantly, exports surpassed 500 billion yuan for the first time. This year’s Spring Festival holiday saw the operation of China-Europe freight trains leaving from Yiwu. A total of 68 trains carrying 5,504 standard containers of cargo were dispatched between February 10 and February 17.

Yiwu merchants are actively searching for new sales channels, establishing new growth points for their firms, and trying to adapt to new commercial trends in response to changing customer preferences and shifting business models. Zou Ying, who runs a packaging company in Yiwu China Commodity City, is one such businesswoman. Over a dozen wholesale orders were placed by Zou in the morning alone. “We incentivized customers with special discounts today and witnessed tremendous enthusiasm from buyers,” Zou added. With eight growing stores under their belt and 21 years of foreign trade experience in Yiwu, Zou is confident that even though the market may shift, there will always be a need for high-quality products.