Govt urged to help out exporters

For Guo Jian, chairman of Yufu Group, a medium-sized woolen sweater exporter in Jiangsu province, the business environment has become harsher than ever as the global economy weakens. Now he has to figure out how to cut costs and add value to his products to cope with the challenge.

Despite the almost 20-percent rise in the value of yuan since July 2005, which has raised export prices denominated in dollar, Yufu still maintains a profit margin of 5-6 percent.

"We have shortened the supply chain and cut delivery time to beat competitors," Guo said. "We also own independent intellectual property rights, which means we can sell at higher prices."