Recently, in the factory of Zhejiang Changfang Wood Industry Co., Ltd. located in Jiuquan Town, Nanxun District, Huzhou City, customs officials from Huzhou are conducting a local inspection on a batch of multilayer composite wood flooring valued at $79,000. Once the inspection is completed successfully, the flooring will be shipped to Malaysia.
“Our company primarily exports solid wood and multilayer composite flooring. From January to August 2024, our foreign trade exports have grown by over 40%. Notably, our exports to countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative have seen an increase of 44.7% year-on-year,” explained Chen Hongjie, the company’s foreign trade manager.
Huzhou, known as the “Capital of Chinese Wood Flooring,” is home to numerous flooring manufacturing enterprises and has successfully cultivated a robust green wood industry cluster. In 2023, this cluster achieved a total output value of 11.33 billion yuan, accounting for approximately 35% of the national output of wood flooring.
In recent years, as the Belt and Road Initiative continues to advance, Huzhou’s wood flooring industry has seized the opportunity, expanding its market share in the countries along the initiative.
“The increase in our foreign trade exports is largely due to the rising demand for wood flooring in countries like Malaysia and Singapore, which has led to a significant number of orders for us,” Chen added. He emphasized that the smooth export of their flooring results from the efficient services provided by Huzhou Customs, which have helped the company reduce costs and enhance competitiveness.
To promote the wood flooring market overseas, Huzhou Customs has taken proactive measures to assist businesses in expanding their international sales. They maintain close communication with companies, gaining early insights into their export plans and needs, and providing personalized customs clearance services.
At the same time, Huzhou Customs rigorously oversees cargo inspections to ensure the quality and safety of exported wood flooring, offering services like “appointment inspections” and “immediate reporting and inspection” to eliminate waiting times for exports.
“On another front, we also enhance policy guidance and training for enterprises, providing detailed explanations of the preferential policies within trade agreements like RCEP and China-ASEAN. We promote customs supervision requirements to ensure that businesses truly benefit from these policies,” a representative from Huzhou Customs remarked.
Statistics indicate that from January to September 2024, the value of Huzhou’s wood flooring exports to Belt and Road countries reached approximately 230 million yuan, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 5.7%. The products are exported to over ten countries participating in the initiative, including Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
