When it comes to the plastic industry in Southeast Asia, the term "rise" is used to describe it in the domestic plastic industry. In terms of overall economic level, Southeast Asia is indeed still at a relatively low level, far behind China. However, ASEAN countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand have gradually developed their own advantages in the plastic industry, and in recent years, their development has been very rapid, with a strong momentum to catch up with China.
In recent years, ASEAN countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand have consistently ranked behind China in terms of GDP growth rate in Asia, and have a large population. They are all truly populous countries with large markets and abundant labor force. Moreover, it is also a producer of various plastic raw materials, which gives it an advantage in developing the plastic industry. Some economists predict that ASEAN countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia will eventually replace China as the new "factory of the world".
According to the analysis of Jinyang Plastics, the plastic industry has always been the pillar of the economic structure of ASEAN countries. However, in recent years, China's plastic industry has been sluggish year by year. Large plastic production bases such as Wuchuan, Pingxiang, Dongguan, Zhenjiang, Jieyang, and Fuzhou have seen a significant decrease in production rates this year.
In the past, China's plastic industry had a relatively broad market, and its products gradually entered markets such as Europe and the Americas, becoming a representative of "Made in China". However, in recent years, the United States, the European Union, and other economically developed countries have been continuously formulating and modifying their existing plastic safety and environmental protection standards, which undoubtedly raises the threshold for China's plastic shoe exports. On the other hand, the development of plastic enterprises has been slow. At the same time, with the rise of labor, land, and other production costs in China and the appreciation of the RMB in recent years, China's advantage in plastic products is constantly being weakened, and the historical trajectory is astonishingly similar. The plastic shoe industry is shifting to the new economies of Southeast Asia.
Jinyang Plastic Factory believes that although Southeast Asian countries have cost advantages, the supply chain there is not fully mature. If plastic products are produced in Southeast Asia, it is inevitable to invest in new hardware equipment, which are additional costs. Secondly, the processing level of workers in Southeast Asia is still relatively low, and too many companies investing in Southeast Asia will inevitably increase the labor wage level in Southeast Asia. So now, Chinese companies still have advantages in terms of safety and stability in the plastic industry.
In 2016, the global economic weakness continued, but the rise of the new technological revolution should be noted in the export of plastic footwear products. It is the best time to restructure and adjust the industrial structure. The main plastic product export market will still recover, and breaking through trade barriers is key. With the adjustment of industrial structure and the transformation of economic growth mode, if the core technology development ability of enterprises is in a leading position, it will open up new paths for the sustainable development of the entire plastic footwear industry.
