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The most recent national holiday in this country corresponded to the National Day, which began to be celebrated on October 1 and ended on Thursday, October 7. Throughout the week, the Chinese held military parades, cultural events and endless celebrations allegorical to the triumph of the communist revolution.
The year 2022 will be dedicated to the Tiger and the celebration of its New Year will take place on January 31.
But what impact will this New Year’s holiday 2022 have for logistics with Paraguay and the rest of the world?
China has a festive calendar that can impact international trade due to the immense volume of products that move between that Asian nation and the rest of the world.
Therefore, it is important that you know the Chinese holiday calendar for 2022 if you do not want to have surprises when importing into Paraguay.
The different Chinese holidays and their impact on trade
China is a country that highly respects and values its religious traditions and historical dates. Therefore, many of your milestones are accompanied by a business holiday or the education and state sector that can span from one day to an entire week.
Every year in China 7 dates are celebrated in which they enjoy a short vacation and practically all educational, industrial or commercial activities are suspended.
But unlike most Western countries, major holidays in China are not limited to just one day, but can span 3 to 7 consecutive days.
In addition, these dates vary from year to year as they are measured according to the lunar calendar and not by the solar calendar as is done in the West. Therefore, the holidays in 2022 will be different from those in 2021 and prior years.
If you want to avoid problems in your import logistics to Paraguay during Chinese holidays, you should know the next holiday dates in the Asian country.
The Western New Year and its celebration in China
Although it is not really a traditional Chinese holiday, on January 1 this country celebrates the Gregorian New Year or Yuandan, as a sign of its growing commercial relationship with the Western world.
To this end, a holiday and collective vacations are decreed from January 1 to 3, a period in which all productive, commercial and logistical activities are suspended.
But although the factories and schools are closed, shops, hotels and companies in the tourism sector will continue to operate.
The shopping centers and electronic sales portals usually offer promotions and discounts on this holiday . Many Western importers take the opportunity to buy large quantities of electronics, clothing and footwear at very attractive prices.
Will the Chinese New Year complicate international trade?
On January 31, 2022 the arrival of New Year 4,719 of the Chinese lunar calendar will be celebrated , kicking off the Spring Festival.
This is the biggest festival for the Chinese people and is accompanied by a total closure of activities throughout the country for 7 consecutive days.
However, the mobilization of millions of people to their villages of origin generates a total collapse of the transport networks. For this reason, many companies apply a 30-day production shutdown to give their staff time to return to work.
This measure also seeks to avoid logistics problems due to the collapse of the land, air and maritime transport systems, which could represent heavy financial losses.
The specialists assure that it is very possible that the situation experienced in the Chinese New Year 2021 will be repeated. At that time a rebound in production was combined with a deficit in maritime and land transport capacity to generate serious problems to the exporters of this country and their foreign clients.
Currently, much of the pre-pandemic production level has been recovered. But China continues to face the problem of a shortage of containers and of maritime cargo space.
The issue of containers gets worse every week. Thousands of them accumulate in ports in the United States and Europe for various reasons and do not return to China in time to be reused in the shipment of new cargo.
Drought in Paraguay will worsen the situation
In Paraguay there are already problems and delays to bring goods from China. This will get worse by the end of 2021 and especially by the Chinese New Year in February 2022.
One of the reasons is that in addition to the logistical problems faced by all the countries of the world, Paraguay is also experiencing an intense drought that has greatly limited the transport of cargo by river to Asunción.
This in turn causes a large increase in costs for Paraguayan importers. Between 2020 and so far in 2021, its costs to bring containers from abroad have risen from $ 4,000 to more than $ 16,000 per unit.
Other Chinese holidays that will affect world trade in 2022
We are going to summarize the other national holidays that are celebrated in China with closure of activities and collective holidays. These dates will undoubtedly affect the flow of trade and logistics with the rest of the world.
Qingming Festival
This celebration is known as “Barrido de Tombas”, in which deceased relatives are honored. It is celebrated on April 4 but includes a major national holiday that runs from April 3-5.
International Workers’ Day
As in the rest of the world, it is commemorated with a national holiday on May 1, accompanied by a labor holiday that can vary between 3 to 5 days.
In 2022, the Chinese government has arranged for Workers’ Day to include 3-day collective vacations.
Dragon Boat Festival
It will be celebrated on June 3, 2022, the date corresponding to the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. This festival is part of the Duanwu Festival, which includes a cessation of productive and school activities from June 3 to 5.
During this festival, the Chinese hold boating competitions in all cities that have a river, lake or access to the sea.
This recalls an event that occurred in 280 BC, when dozens of fishermen went out in their boats to search for the body of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan, who had drowned in a river.
Mid-Autumn Festival
Also called the Festival of the Moon, it is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. In 2022 this date corresponds to September 10 and there will be a national holiday from 9 to 11 of that month.
In Honk Kong there is usually an additional holiday with respect to Chin to mainland, so there will be no operations in most of its companies until September 12.
China National Day
It is celebrated on October 1 of each year and is the most important celebration after the Chinese New Year. His work and educational holiday is 1 week long and the population popularly calls it “Golden Week.”
As with the Chinese New Year, millions of people take advantage of this holiday to travel to their home towns to visit family and friends.
Due to the huge traffic jams and problems to return home, there is a serious problem of absenteeism.
For this reason, many companies prefer to close operations for 15 days or more to avoid problems in their production and distribution systems due to the absence of labor.
What problems do big holidays cause in China?
If you maintain logistics activities from China to Paraguay, you must bear in mind that the Chinese New Year and its National Day are the dates that most complicate operations between both countries.
Many companies increase the shipment of products before these dates, generating a collapse in the air, land and sea transportation systems . Also freight prices tend to increase due to high demand.
Although flights and trains work at maximum capacity on these dates, they use a large part of their capacity to mobilize passengers who wish to visit their families. This reduces the availability of space to move commercial cargo within China.
In addition, many banks and insurance companies close operations and only leave small ticket offices operating in some cities.
Therefore, you should discuss the situation with your supplier and obtain guarantees that the products will arrive on time for shipment to Paraguay.
The best logistics to import from China all year round
Alfa Trading, S.A. is a Paraguayan company that can support you to import products from China at any time of the year.
We have more than 28 years of experience in the international logistics area and we have Freight Agents in the main ports and airports in China and the rest of the world.
For this reason, we are ready to support you in your logistics before, during and after the major holidays in that country.
In addition, we also offer technical assistance for the success of your import project from China to Paraguay.
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