Chinese leather-shoemakers are seeing orders from Europe drop due to the anti-dumping tariffs the European Union (EU) has imposed on China's leather shoes.

"We have seen almost no European buyers visit our stall the whole day," said Wu Liming, a worker with the international trade department of the Kangnai Group Co., Ltd., one of China's biggest shoemakers, at the ongoing Canton Fair held in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province.

Wu said at previous sessions of the bi-annual export fair, his company usually saw many buyers from countries like France, Denmark and Britain.

About 60 percent of the company's exports normally went to Europe, but the tariffs, which would no doubt lead to rising shoe prices in Europe, would compel European buyers to find suppliers in other countries, said Wu.

The EU agreed to impose two-year duties of 16.5 percent on China-made leather shoes, which took effect on October 7.

"We have seen a slight drop in orders from Europe this year," said Yang Qiuxia, president assistant of the Hazan Shoes Co., Ltd. based in Wenzhou, a major shoe making base in east China's Zhejiang Province.

Orders from small buyers had fallen greatly, said Yang, but orders from big buyers with greater competitiveness were not much affected.

European buyers have begun to buy shoes made of non-leather materials that are unaffected by the new tariffs in China.

Groupe Royer, of France, had reduced imports of Chinese full leather shoes by 85 percent this year, said company designer Romain Tamalet.

"For us , the new tariff is no good. Now we are obliged to import fewer leather shoes," he said.

His company normally bought 20 million pairs of shoes from China, but had turned India, Thailand and Indonesia for leather shoes, said Tamalet.

Other buyers from Europe are showing more interest in slippers or textile shoes at the fair.

Chinese shoemakers have been exploring ways to compensate for the loss of business.

Kangnai Group is to open speciality stores to ensure overseas markets.

"We have more than 100 specialty stores in 20 countries, including European countries," said Wu.

Speciality stores benefited from bypassing by sold directly to customers, bypassing retailers, said Wu.

The company planned to open 1,000 speciality stores overseas in the next five years, Wu said.

Hazan Shoes had built a factory in Nigeria and purchased a shoemaking factory in Italy, said Yang. Shifting production abroad would help Chinese shoemakers avoid the anti-dumping tariffs.

Other manufacturers have begun to extend overseas markets, finding new buyers in North America, rather than relying too much on the European market.

Meanwhile, Chinese shoemakers are planning to file a suit in the European Court of Justice against the EU tariffs.

China's Commerce Ministry said last week it backed the efforts by Chinese shoemakers to safeguard their legitimate interests.