Given the huge amount of goods that Europe imports every day from the Far East the recent decline of the euro against the dollar from highs of $1.59 to as low as $1.22 last week has meant these goods are  now costing alot more money. If you were importing $20,000 worth of toys last October they would have cost €12,578, now the cost would be €16,393 -  a 30% increase!!!

Why is this?
The majority of factories in China will only quote and sell in Dollars. The reason? Because it eliminates any foreign exchange risk for the factory.
To keep their economy expanding by up to 7% per annum the Chinese Government pegs its currency the Yuan with the Dollar. It keeps it currency at a really low rate against the dollar. This means its biggest market, the American consumers, get really good value when importing Chinese goods. This huge demand means that the Chinese factories are kept really busy and the Chinese citizens in jobs. The Chinese Government are the worlds biggest buyers of the dollar in order to keep it strong against the Yuan. If the Dollar got weak it would mean that Americans may not buy as many imports from China and the Chinese economy could falter.

What does this mean for promotional purchases? And what solutions are there?
Re-orders will be more expensive. If in October 2009 you purchased 20,000 bags at €1.50, and if you were to re-order now they would cost you €1.95 each.
To keep clients up to date given the current volatility, ongoing project quotes are updated weekly based on currency market rates.
When you order with TPI Premiums by hedging and using your deposit to pay the factory a deposit we can guarantee the price of your order throughout the process. This means that if you order on January the first at €1.50 and the goods are delivered in the standard 12 to 16 week leadtime and even if the Euro has weakened there will be no extra cost to the client.

When you place your order with TPI Premiums you can have complete peace of mind that your budget is safe!!

Conor Callinan