Yiwu receives orders for Christmas products from global buyers

Half a year before Christmas, many global buyers have already placed orders for Christmas gifts from Yiwu, China's small-commodities hub in eastern Zhejiang Province, hoping to receive their products as soon as possible.

At a shop selling Christmas decorations in the Yiwu International Trade City, a buyer from the Czech Republic placed an order for half a container full of Christmas wreaths, scheduled for shipment by mid-July.

"Actually we are not doing production here, you know, we are just buying stock , what we need a little," said the Czech buyer.

This year, many overseas customers are accounting for the risk of shipping delays and generally placing orders two or three months in advance by selecting products and signing orders online. As a result, Christmas supplies in Yiwu have reached their peak shipping period earlier than in previous years.

"It is the peak shipping season for Christmas now. The shipping cycle is relatively long, and we want to deliver the goods early," said Pan Xiao, a vendor.

Long Xijin, who mainly sells Christmas ornaments and music boxes, said that their sales in South America have increased by about 20 percent this year. All kinds of product orders have been scheduled for August and September and orders placed now can only be shipped in October at the earliest.

"This year's shipments are relatively early. Products have been shipped since around the end of March and April. The factory is shipping at least one or two containers daily," said Long.

At a packaging materials factory in Yiwu, workers were packing a batch of Christmas gift bags for delivery overseas.

The manager here said that although it was just the end of June, this year's Christmas orders have been full, and all the factory's production lines are currently running at full capacity.

Many Christmas supply sellers said that due to the unstable shipping schedule, Europe, the United States, and other distant shipping areas have been unable to catch up with the local delivery date, and they have stopped receiving orders from European and American customers.

"This batch of goods will be shipped to Poland, and the quantity is about 1.5 million, which will be delivered by about six containers. The shipment time is in the middle of July. Because of the tight shipping schedule, we hired a dozen temporary workers," said Jiang Kaiqi, the packaging materials factory manager.

Christmas shopping starts early in China's small commodity hub Yiwu

Japan has introduced a new program for foreign employers to replace the Technical Intern Training Program, which was implemented over the last three decades, with a new training and employment system expected to be fully implemented within three years to tackle the labor shortage.

Overall, the new training and employment system is more flexible than the previous Technical Intern Training Program. It relaxes restrictions on foreign employees changing companies and eliminates the compulsory requirement for them to return to their home countries after three years.

Instead, it allows foreign workers who meet certain Japanese language and technical proficiency criteria to switch employers, and those with adequate technical abilities and meeting specific requirements can even apply to obtain permanent residency.

This initiative aims to address a labor shortage exacerbated by a 13-year consecutive decline in the Japanese population, with 16.1 percent of people aged over 75. This demographic trend has left around 70 percent of medium- and small-sized enterprises facing labor shortages.

"Women who previously had no jobs are now employed, and elderly workers continue to work, which helps to fill gaps in the labor market. However, sectors such as civil construction still face severe labor shortages," said Masaaki Shigehara, member of a council at General Affairs Department of Dai-ichi Life Group.

Experts believe the new system will enable foreign labor to more easily access industries experiencing critical labor shortages, including construction, nursing, agriculture, and car maintenance.

"In the car maintenance industry, the talent shortage issue could be alleviated if the new training and employment system develops as expected. This could significantly reduce the survival risks faced by enterprises. We hope this new system will be implemented successfully," said Ichi Yoshino, chairman of Japan Autobody Repair Work Association.

Japan introduces new employment system for foreigners to tackle severe labor shortages