Seasonal surge in orders for Delta exporters

Exporters in the Pearl River Delta, a manufacturing and trade hub, experienced a seasonal surge in overseas orders last month, but many had to reject some business because the stronger yuan would have meant losing money on deals, a report said on Tuesday.

The report, released by Shenzhen Onetouch Business Service Co Ltd, found in a survey of 500 companies that the foreign trade climate index stood at 100.07 in October, the highest since May. The result indicates that Delta region factory owners have more confidence about the sales outlook as the year winds down.

Shenzhen Onetouch, which provides online foreign-trade outsourcing services for small and medium-sized enterprises, releases the index each month.

"Exporters' confidence is coming mainly from an increase of overseas orders ahead of Christmas, especially in the traditional European and the United States markets," said Xiao Feng, deputy general manager of Shenzhen Onetouch. Xiao forecast that the trade index will reach 105.8 this month as more overseas orders are expected by the end of the year.

The export value of a larger group of 2,000 sampled companies in the Delta region increased year-on-year by 2.55 percent, according to the report.

China's exports and imports regained momentum in October as global conditions improved and domestic demand remained steady, with total trade increasing 6.5 percent year-on-year to $339.7 billion, according to the country's customs authority.

However, a growing number of local manufacturers will be forced to pass up some orders due to the yuan's appreciation, according to Xiao.

"We are still worried about the increasing pressure on exporters caused by the rising value of the yuan. Their profits will be greatly affected," Xiao said.

The currency has appreciated about 2.3 percent against the US dollar this year, the most among 11 major Asian currencies tracked by Bloomberg News.