An aerial view of the Yiwu International Trade Market in Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang Province Photo: VCG

 
As the first batch of tickets for the 19th Asian Games became available for sale from Saturday, people's enthusiasm for sports has transformed into orders for sport-related products of Chinese suppliers.

Yiwu, a global manufacturing hub in East China's Zhejiang Province, has received a large number of orders for sporting goods, as the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022, which will be held from September 23 to October 8, 2023, approaches, the Global Times has learned.

A manager surnamed Wang at a Yiwu-based ball manufacturing enterprise told the Global Times that their orders are currently scheduled to the end of September.

"In fact, since the World Cup in 2022, our football orders have been rising rapidly. Nearly half of our footballs were exported. This year, we have received more orders from the domestic market, as well as from the Asian market," said Wang.

From January to May 2023, Yiwu exported 2.85 billion yuan ($394 million) of sporting goods, an increase of 15.6 percent year-on-year, according to statistics from the Yiwu Sports and Fitness Products Industry Association.

Wang disclosed that sellers of sporting products at the Yiwu International Trade City are all busy handling orders.

Workers make footballs at a factory in Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang Province, on December 5, 2022. Photo: VCG

Xiang Lili, a manager of another Yiwu-based sports goods supplier, said that at present, their production orders have been lined up until October.

"Enterprises, clubs and civil organizations around China have held events to welcome the Asian Games, which has brought a large number of orders, especially customized orders," said Xiang.

The Asian Games fever and the increasing focus on healthy lifestyle have driven other sports events and brought orders to Yiwu producers, as well as producers in nearby cities.

"Starting from the beginning of 2023, our production focus has turned to the stand-up paddle (SUP) board, inflatable surfboard and other high-end and niche sports equipment, as people's needs for healthy lifestyle are more and more diversified," a manager, surnamed Xie, at a Taizhou-based producer of water sports equipment said.

Xie noted that as several areas of the country are suffering from extreme heat, the sales of SUP boards have surged in summer.

A Yiwu-based producer of medals and trophies just received orders from a Nepal buyer, which will be used for the increasingly popular sports events in Nepal, a salesperson with the producer told the Global Times.

A buyer from Jordan placed an order worth more than 1 million yuan at a sporting goods store of the Yiwu International Trade City. 

The buyer said that sports goods sales continue to rise in Jordan as 2023 is the year of the Asian Games. Therefore, he plans to open a sporting goods store and import more products from Yiwu.