Garment sellers discover desert provides wealth

Unlike contracts for heavy industries, manufacturers rely largely on circulating capital to complete the orders. The biggest concern for most Chinese garment exporters is that foreign companies place orders through a commonly recognized credit system and pay only after goods are delivered.

Ma Yixuan, general manager of Yinchuan Wogefei Garment Co Ltd, says many Chinese factories in Zhejiang or Jiangsu worry that they stand to incur heavy losses if foreign buyers do not pay.

"We have no such problem in doing business with Arabic clients because our trust is based on religious doctrine," Ma says. "There are no cheats."

Garment companies in Yinchuan should focus more on creating independent brands and high value-added products, he says.

"Most companies in Yinchuan concentrate too much on original equipment manufacturing businesses or in making copies of well-known Islamic brands. They have no brand-building or capital enhancement plans to offer. They need to try to improve their design capabilities or set up regional sales networks in certain Arabic countries."

With an eager eye on the Middle East, the company launched a brand called Cifura in 2011 for high-end and silk Islamic hijabs, dresses, shirts and skirts. The strategy seems to be working as the company had sales of about 41 million yuan ($6.7 million) from the Middle East market last year.

Ma says his company usually employs more than 50 additional workers before Ramadan, in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, the busiest season for its export business.