While the national soccer team still misses the World Cup, another "Chinese team" has remained steady this year. This team is made up of soccer balls, trophies, jerseys and other components of China's "small commodities team". According to the Yiwu Sporting Goods Association, Yiwu manufacturing industry accounted for almost 70% of the market share of goods around the World Cup this year, which can be said to have been widely welcomed by fans across the country.
During this year's and previous years' World Cups, China's "Small Commodities Team", consisting of soccer balls, trophies and jerseys, was, as a netizen put it: "China has never been absent from the World Cup."
Yiwu cross-border e-commerce association president Xu Yan gave this set of data: 2010 South Africa World Cup, January to May, Yiwu Customs exported 65.54 million U.S. dollars; 2014 Brazil World Cup, January to May, Yiwu Customs exported 160 million U.S. dollars.In the first four months of 2018, Yiwu's exports to Russia exceeded 1 billion yuan.
This year, the Yiwu Sporting Goods Association estimated that Yiwu manufacturing accounts for almost 70 percent of the entire market share of World Cup peripheral goods, from flags for the top 32 finishers in Qatar to inspirational horns and whistles, and from soccer balls to jerseys and scarves to Hercules Cup decorations and pillows, according to Xinhua.
Yiwu Customs statistics also show that China's small commodities are accelerating to take the world by storm: "In August this year, Yiwu exported 3.82 billion yuan of sporting goods and 9.66 billion yuan of toys. Among them, Brazil exported 7.58 billion yuan, up 56.7%; Argentina exported 1.39 billion yuan, up 67.2%; Spain exported 4.29 billion yuan, up 95.8%."
