PEKING, Oct. 6, Reuter: Widespread smuggling of raw silk has hit China’s official exports and lost 20 million dollars in foreign exchange earnings, the China Daily said today.
The newspaper said an estimated 750 tons of raw silk had been smuggled to Hong Kong so far this year.
‘Another newspaper, the People’s Daily, said legitimate exports were only 20 per cent of the 1985 total.
Both papers said more than 50 Chinese companies, as well as individuals on the mainland and from Hong Kong and Macao, were involved in the illegal exports.
Raw silk was falsely declared at customs posts, smuggled in supposedly empty containers or sold under forget licenses, the China Daily said,
‘The paper quoted Huang Jianmo, Vice-President of the China Silk Corporation, only legal exporter of raw silk, as saying illegal exports undercut official prices. This had caused a sluggish official market in Hong Kong and hurt China’s trade with Japan and WESTERN EUROPE.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 10, 1986
