Chinese shops in Palma are hit by EU block

Staff Reporter WHILST the European Union is in talks with China to revise a textiles pact signed in June, which has blocked approximately 75 million Chinese garments held up in European ports, the Chinese community in Palma is starting to worry about the future. Millions of sweaters, trousers and other products made in China have been impounded because they have reached the ceiling set in the June agreement. As a consequence Chinese goods are starting to disappear all over Spain. In calle Pere Garau in Palma, there are many Chinese shops, who have been affected by this latest EU move. Xiaohua Yang owns the Oriente shop, which mainly stocks textile products. “The crisis with the products affects the prices quite a lot. I, for example, must now pay 50 cents more for each product that I buy from wholesalers in Madrid and Barcelona. The products are starting to disappear, and now in August I am not that worried, but when September comes people will buy more and to not have enough stock will be a disaster. We, in Palma, rely on the wholesalers in Spain. The problem must be solved”, she said. The owner of the Wan Ke Long shop in calle Metge Josep Darder, considers that “for now we don't have any problems, as we have a full stockroom. At the moment, we are ordering stuff from Madrid and they deliver it to us”. The Longda Mallorca Bazaar near to the Pere Garau market, is full of products, but the sales assistant Belen Chu is worried: “The prices have gone up, this is the most direct result of the EU block. Before this we could buy a pair of trousers for 6 euros, but now we have to pay 8 euros. The sales are also declining, they have decreased by almost 50 percent this year when compared to last year. We can't get hold of certain products, but we have nearly everything.”