Wire and cable are key export electrical products in China and also the main foreign exchange earning products in the electrical industry. The wire and cable industry in 2006 was not a calm year, encountering difficulties such as rising raw material prices. However, with the hard work of the entire industry and enterprises, gratifying results were achieved. The products, output, output value, scale, and efficiency of the wire and cable industry have steadily increased, and the export earnings have exceeded 7 billion US dollars. Jiangsu's wire and cable exports have also maintained a good momentum. In the first half of last year, Jiangsu ports exported a total of 8000 tons of wire and cable, worth 60.56 million US dollars, an increase of 1.1 times and 1 time respectively compared to the same period last year (the same below); In the second half of the year, there was also a trend of rapid export growth. Against the backdrop of strong international demand for wires and cables, rising energy and raw material prices, and continuous appreciation of the RMB, China's cable industry has experienced rapid growth in international trade, and Jiangsu's wire and cable exports have also significantly increased. According to statistics from Nanjing Customs, in the first two months of this year, Jiangsu ports exported a total of 4474.7 tons of wires and cables, with an export value of 37.908 million US dollars, an increase of 1.2 times and 1.5 times compared to the same period last year, respectively. The achievement is inseparable from the efforts of Jiangsu cable enterprises such as Far East Cable Co., Ltd. to persist in innovation and actively explore the international market in recent years. This is also the first step for Jiangsu cable enterprises to internationalization. According to Zhang Xilan, General Manager of Far East Cable Co., Ltd., Far East International's business has grown rapidly and its products have been exported to many countries and regions such as Southeast Asia, Australia, Latin America, Africa, and Europe.
After achieving a 1055% increase in indirect export performance and a 207% increase in direct export performance compared to 2004 in 2005, the company achieved another good performance in international business in 2006, with a year-on-year increase of 211.52%. The author also learned that at the beginning of this year, the international trade of Far East Cable reported many good news, especially the export products passed the rigorous quality certification of the European Union, and obtained a single order for large quantities of cables exported to Türkiye in the European market, with a contract amount of nearly 20 million yuan.
Although the current export situation of wires and cables in Jiangsu is promising, further expansion of exports still requires overcoming many difficulties. Firstly, blind investment in the domestic wire and cable industry has led to prominent structural contradictions in products. Due to the low investment threshold in the industry, there are currently as many as 7000 domestic wire and cable production enterprises, and some of them do not even have the ability to control and inspect product quality. In many places, there is a phenomenon of "inferior enterprises" driving "superior enterprises". At the same time, the product cannot meet the environmental and energy-saving requirements constantly raised by the market for the variety and level of wires and cables in recent years. At present, China's bare wire production accounts for nearly 1/5 of the total production of wires and cables, while developed countries only account for 1/10. Secondly, the high and fluctuating prices of raw materials such as copper, aluminum, and plastics have led to a rapid increase in production costs, and the appreciation of the RMB has increased the pressure on the survival of enterprises.
Once again, only 30% of domestic cable products can participate in international market competition, making it difficult for product quality to fully meet foreign environmental protection requirements. It is worth noting that the wire and cable industry has been facing technical barriers from the European Union one after another. After the WEEE directive (on scrapped electrical and electronic equipment directive) and the ROHS directive (on the restriction of the use of certain harmful substances in electrical and electronic equipment directive), the third wave of the "green directive" EUP directive from the European Union has directly pressed against China's cable industry. Before August 11, 2007, EU member states will formulate specific requirements for related products and translate them into domestic regulations, which will have a negative impact on China's wire and cable exports. Major Japanese electrical companies also have corresponding requirements. As the basic material for producing electronic and electrical equipment, the ability of the wire and cable industry to cope with green barriers directly affects the stable development of the downstream electronic and electrical equipment industry. Experts suggest that firstly, relevant national departments should strengthen guidance and control the overall scale of the industry by raising the industry entry threshold; The second is to improve product technology, adjust product structure, guide wire and cable export enterprises to adopt environmentally friendly alternative technologies in production processes and materials, consolidate the export market, and enhance the overall competitiveness of China's wire and cable industry.