According to reports, dimethyl fumarate (abbreviated as DMF) is often used as a preservative and anti-mold agent product. It is commonly used in the production, storage, and transportation of leather, footwear, and textiles. However, since October last year, consumers such as France, Poland, Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom have successively experienced consumer dimethyl fumarate allergies. In view of this, countries have successively restricted or even prohibited the listing of seats and footwear containing dimethyl fumarate.
“Our shoe exports are generally shipped by sea and we have to cross the ocean for a while to reach Europe. It is necessary to keep it dry.†The relevant person of the Guangdong Footwear Chamber of Commerce told reporters that the “draft resolution†has undoubtedly become a constraint on our footwear. A major technical barrier for exporting companies.
It is understood that the draft resolution was formally implemented on May 1 this year. Before that, France and Belgium have taken concrete measures to ban the import and sale of shoes and seats containing dimethyl fumarate. Spain also introduced regulations that prohibit any skin contact products from containing dimethyl fumarate.
According to this resolution, the content of dimethyl fumarate in all products exported to Europe must not exceed 0.1 mg/kg. The seemingly insignificant desiccant has brought great pressure to footwear exporters under the effect of a combination of cigarettes.
The Pearl River Delta has always been one of the important bases for the export of footwear in China. Taking Huizhou as an example, there are currently 150 export footwear enterprises. Previously, the Huizhou Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau conducted a random inspection of 33 batches of desiccant and leather used in the footwear products exported to the European Union, and the spot-checked samples passed all tests. The rapid response ability of Chinese footwear export enterprises to deal with trade barriers has emerged, but it has paid a considerable price behind.
"The desiccant that originally had dimethyl fumarate had a package cost of about 3.5 cents. Now it can't be used anymore. Instead, it needs to be replaced with a unit price of 3 corners and 6 points. The cost becomes 10 times." The head of a local export-oriented footwear manufacturer told reporters that the cost of each pair of shoes would increase by more than 3 cents, that is, three pairs would be one yuan and 300,000 would be 100,000 yuan.
Although there have been anti-dumping barriers before, it is reported that the European and American markets still occupy a large proportion of China's footwear exports. According to statistics, in 2008 China's footwear exports totaled 29.66 billion U.S. dollars, and exported to Europe 5.37 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 18.11% of the total.
EU countries say "no" to desiccants
On January 29 this year, the EU member states passed a draft resolution that guarantees that consumer products containing dimethyl fumarate will not be put on the European market. The draft stipulates that if the content of dimethyl fumarate in the consumer product or its components exceeds 0.1 mg/kg, or the product itself has declared its dimethyl fumarate content, it will be considered as “containing fumaric acid. Dimethyl methacrylate's products will be prohibited from entering the EU market for circulation and sales.