Sports fever drives demand of exports from "world's supermarket" ahead of Asian Games

A growing enthusiasm for summer sports is translating into orders for related products in Yiwu City of east China's Zhejiang Province, which has been dubbed "the world's supermarket" for its expansive small commodities market, with the upcoming Asian Games in nearby Hangzhou fueling the amateur sporting craze.

With two months left to go until the 19th Asian Games kicks off, more foreign buyers have been flocking to the famous Yiwu International Trade Market to snap up some goods.

From January to May, Yiwu exported nearly 400 million U.S. dollars worth of sporting goods, an increase of over 15 percent year on year. Retailers say there's been an increase in exports to the Asian market.

While sports equipment is top of the list, a medal and trophy shop in the market is also receiving orders from around the world, as more people look to honor and celebrate local sporting achievements.

"We have received more customers as the Asian Games is approaching. Our football trophies are the best-sellers," Huang Guili, a retailer at the Yiwu International Trade Market.

"Sales for table tennis table and badminton have increased two-fold. The export orders have lined up till October," said Li Zhi, another retailer.

At the production line, companies are running at full capacity to meet with the high demand.

Wu Xiaoming, chairman of AOKAY Sports, said his company can produce 4,500 footballs per day, but still can't keep up with the demand.

"My company has to expand cooperation with manufacturers to process some of the orders. Only a few footballs are used during a match. The demand is largely coming from amateurs," he said.

The company, which has experienced a number of world sports events including FIFA World Cup last year, said while the Asian Games means business opportunities, it's still the quality and diversified products that win the customers.

The 19th Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou from September 23 to October 8, and features a total of 40 sports and 61 disciplines.