According to the China Leather Industry Association (CLIA), 130 million pairs of shoes worth $130 million were exported from the Guangdong province to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) between January and November 2006, an increase of 41.4% in terms of quantity and 31.7% in value.

Shoe exports from ASEAN to Guangdong increased by 150% to 750,000 pairs with a value of $12.77 million.

The CLIA believes that these increases are the result  of an economic co-operation agreement between China and ASEAN which took effect last year. As part of the agreement, there was a considerable reduction in import and export tariffs.