08-12-2006 The
export prices of Chinese motorcycles have risen since the government raised the
qualification requirements for domestic motorcycle exporters on March 1. Chinese
manufacturers exported 6.36 million motorcycles from March to October, up 21.3
percent from the same period last year. Their value was 2.25 billion U.S. dollars,
up 39.8 percent, with unit prices rising 15.3 percent. It
was the first time that the growth rate of the country's motorcycle export value
exceeds that of the amount of export, said sources with the Ministry of Commerce
on Thursday. Surplus
production in the motorcycle industry had led to unhealthy competition among domestic
manufacturers in overseas markets, with irrational price cutting in the scramble
for market share. The
government's decision in March to raise the qualification requirements for exporters
prevented prices from dropping further and reduced the number of exporters from
855 to 503. China
has been the world's largest motorcycle producer for 12 straight years, with an
annual output of 18 million units, half the world's total. Exports
surged from 250,000 units in 1999 to 7.23 million in 2005, while export value
rose from 130 million U.S. dollars to 2.25 billion U.S. dollars.
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