Supply Shortage?

Monday, 08 March 2010 09:17

AS most of you know, much of the world’s fishing tackle comes from the Far East – to be more specific, China.
China is currently in the grips of one of the harshest winters in living memory. Actually, as I write this, Europe is too – but that’s another matter. It’s unusual to write about the weather in a monthly magazine though, as by the time this comes out, everything will have changed. So what has this got to do with you?
Well… China is now suffering major coal shortages because of the lingering cold weather. The areas affected just happen to be the hotbeds of Chinese fishing-tackle manufacture.
The result of this rationing is that many of China’s 598 coal-fired power stations are now limiting electricity supply – with many factories in the region only operating on a two-day week.
The problem is compounded by the imminent arrival of the Chinese New Year, which will see most factories close down for a week.
So what does this mean for you the angler?
What it means, should the shortage and rationing continue, is that the Chinese factories could be up to TWO MONTHS late delivering the goods to the brand owners, meaning your shop could well be running low on the tackle you need to be selling!

Make of this what you will as, like I say, it’s projecting what could happen – but it might be worth speaking to your suppliers and making sure you are top of their list, just in case…

EFTTEX and beyond…

This year sees this magazine celebrating its 10th anniversary helping to grow your slice of the tackle trade. As part of our commitment to the trade, we will once again be helping to drive business to your booths at EFTTEX in Valencia, ICAST in Las Vegas and the newly formed IFTD fly show in Denver.

It always makes me laugh when people just book into shows and then expect business to flock to them. If only it were that easy hey? So this year we are making an extra special effort to make sure these shows work for you. Turn to pages 32 to 33 to find out more…