North Korean customs officials in Wonjong village, Rason, are allowing imported fabrics to pass through easily and then be distributed to wholesalers nationwide, a source in North Hamgyong province told The Daily NK on Thursday.
Since importers are fulfilling orders from wholesalers, they are able to ship the fabric as soon as it clears customs.
The importers have the fabric packed and loaded onto container trucks, which can deliver the orders within a day or two.
Now that the fabrics are entering the country, a wide range of fabrics are being sold in North Korean markets.
The fabric imported on the Hunchun-Rason trade route is mostly for fall and winter outerwear and innerwear. The outerwear fabric typically comes in subtle shades such as olive green and black, while the innerwear fabric comes in a range of colors, some lighter and some darker, the source said.
Wholesalers buy the fabric at a price range of 80-150 Chinese yuan ($11-21) per meter and then sell it for at least 150 yuan per meter.
“Most of the fabric is sold wholesale in Pyongsong, South Pyongan province, and Nampo. Pyongsong and Nampo have better contract manufacturing technology than other areas, so fabric imported from China is often made into garments here and then distributed throughout the country,” the source said.
Recently, fabric wholesalers in Pyongsong have been supplying imported fabrics to local market vendors and garment manufacturers. This indicates that fabric distribution is helping to boost market activity and make garment manufacturers more profitable.