A truck carrying Chinese goods recently passed through customs at Hyesan, Yanggang Province, once again raising hopes that trade between North Korea and China will return to pre-pandemic levels, Daily NK has learned.
“A truck brought a shipment of shoes and factory goods to the Hyesan customs house on Oct. 16 and then returned to China without the goods. Activity is picking up at the customs house, which is tantalizing trade officials who are waiting for trade to return to the way things were before the pandemic,” a source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
According to the source, there have been signs of change at the Hyesan customs house, including visits by officials at the end of September. Shipments of several kinds of fruit were cleared by customs and put on the market before Chuseok (Korea’s fall harvest festival), raising public hopes that trade would be normalized.
Customs activities slowed during Chuseok in late September, China’s National Day in early October and North Korea’s Party Foundation Day on Oct. 10. But the shipment’s clearance on Oct. 16 fueled more hopeful speculation that trade will soon resume.
“People in Hyesan are currently saying it’s only a matter of time before they’ll be able to trade as they did before the pandemic. There’s apparently chatter among Chinese merchants about the customs office reopening before long, and the shipment’s clearance has convinced a lot of people [about the normalization of trade],” the source said.
But the lack of any official instructions about imports or exports since the shipment has left trade officials on edge, he said.
“Exporters of ore and other materials have had their vehicles loaded with goods and on standby for quite a while now. There’s money to be made if they can just get their shipment through customs. But despite the official visits and a single truck’s passage through customs, their export goods are still in limbo, which is making trade officials very nervous,” the source said.
Trade officials who purchased large amounts of pine nuts on the assumption that the customs office would reopen are anxious that they will miss their chance to export the nuts, he added.
Chinese importers accept goods from North Korean exporters on consignment and then pay the wholesale price to the North Koreans after they are sold. That means it is the North Koreans, and not the Chinese, who have the most to lose when goods cannot clear customs.
“As the total resumption of trade remains delayed, traders are growing more vocal in their complaints. They’re frustrated that they have to take on all [the risk] while the state only has to give orders and collect fees for trade permits,” the source said.
“Some trade officials refuse to believe any rumors about the customs office reopening or trade resuming until they see goods passing through customs with their own eyes,” he added.
Translated by David Carruth. Edited by Robert Lauler.
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