ACLE Shanghai goes ahead
15 July 2003
The All China Leather Exhibition (ACLE), scheduled for September 3-5, 2003, will take place as planned at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC), Pudong Shanghai. The Shanghai Government lifted its self-imposed restriction on holding conferences and exhibitions in Shanghai, China, on June 14, 2003. Import and export statistics on China's leather industry for January - April 2003 both show a healthy spurt in growth, indicating that the sector remains buoyant. Imports reached US$1.29 billion, up 24.1% over the same period in 2002 while exports reached US$4.56 billion, up 25.2%. It is particularly significant for the immediate business prospects of China's leather sector that imports of raw hides and skins increased by 29.9% and imports of semi processed and finished leather by 23.2%. In spite of the SARS outbreak in China during spring 2003, and the resulting business disruption, bookings for ACLE 2003 have held firm and continue to be well up on ACLE 2002.
