This Saturday, January 28, marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year. It begins in the year 4715 according to their traditional calendar, and corresponds to the Year of the Rooster, also known as the Spring Festival. As a tradition, children visit their elders, receive a red envelope with money inside and exchange gifts.
The celebration of the holiday lasts 15 days, each day corresponding to a specific activity, beginning with New Year’ s Day and ending with the Lantern Festival. This holiday, which varies in date each year depending on the lunar cycles, allows Chinese citizens to participate in dozens of parades and fulfill several of their traditions.
The New Year affects global foreign trade forecasts, especially for companies importing products manufactured in China. Practically all commerce comes to a standstill during these dates. For a week, the government and the factories stop all their activities. Ports and customs usually operate with a minimum of personnel, their only priority being perishable goods.Two to three weeks before the New Year, production companies give their employees a vacation so that they can spend these days with their families and begin to reduce their production rate.
To avoid problems in your company during the most important celebration of the traditional holidays it is advisable:
- Plan production well in advance to avoid delivery problems.
- Plan ahead with your suppliers, if you don’t organize loads well in advance you will be left in the queue.
- To have enough merchandise to supply customers.
- Coordinate actions to ensure the correct flow in the chain.
If this is your first contact with the Asian country and you have recently started an import process, it is likely that you will be surprised by its ‘paralysis’ at this time of the year, however, in MingTa we are at your disposal for any problem or inconvenience that may arise.
