As record-breaking heatwaves sweep across the globe, Shenzhen, a key manufacturing hub for small home appliances in south China, has embraced a surge in exports of cooling products including fans and air conditioners, capitalizing on differentiated products, payment services and streamlined customs procedures to capture a growing share of international markets.
At an electronics company in Shenzhen's Bao'an District, workers are busy loading boxes of electric fans into containers for shipment to overseas markets.
"We are also rushing to stock up. At peak times, we can load more than a dozen containers a day, roughly 20,000 sets," said He Gang, the company's warehouse manager.
In addition to speeding up production and ensuring on-time deliveries, the company has also rolled out a pay-as-you-go model to cater to overseas customers' varied payment habits. Customers pay a deposit and top up as they use the fan, an approach that meets consumer needs while boosting sales.
"Users top up for a certain number of days and receive a corresponding password. After taking the fan home and entering the password, they can use it for that specific period. Once they have used it for the time we set -- say, 365 days -- the product becomes theirs," said Zhao Xiping, person in charge of the company.
As cooling appliances are highly seasonal and have a short sales window, customs and logistics efficiency is critical to winning orders, on top of production speed. Shenzhen Customs has introduced multiple facilitation measures to ensure smooth sea freight exports.
"To meet the export demands of businesses rushing to fill orders and shorten delivery times, we have taken steps to ensure smooth sea freight logistics and achieve efficient synergy between port operations and customs oversight," said Li Sijia, a staff member of the port supervision division of Shenzhen Customs.
Shenzhen embraces surge in cooling appliance exports as heatwaves grip globe
