BEIJING - China's
burgeoning toy industry will become better
regulated as the nation's compulsory certification
system for toy products moves into full swing,
senior certification officials said.
Rag
dolls and electronic toys produced by two
manufacturers in South China's Guangdong province
received the China Compulsory Certification (CCC)
last week, according to sources
with
the nation's Certification and Accreditation
Administration (CNCA) on March 31.
Since
March 1, toy producers in China have been able to
apply to three certification agencies nominated by
the CNCA to certify their products, said Liu
Weijun, chief engineer of the administration. The
administration has nominated 15 institutions to
examine toys for certification, he said.
By June 1, 2007, no toy products without
CCCs will be allowed to leave factories, be sold
or be imported into China, Liu said. It is hoped
this measure will mitigate the increasing
international pressure for environmental
protection measures, as well as further expand the
nation's toy export market, insiders said.
China's toy products account for 75% of
the world's toy output, according to statistics
from the China Chamber of Commerce for the Import
and Export of Light Industrial Products and
Arts-Crafts (CCCLA).
Toys made in China
are being exported to Europe, the United States,
Japan and other regions and countries, it said.
Guangdong province is the biggest exporter of toys
from the Chinese mainland, making over 60% of the
mainland's total toy exports.
As the toy
industry has grown over recent years, some
inferior and bogus toy products have posed serious
risks to the health and safety of babies and
children.
From 2005, the CNCA began
accepting compulsory certifications for toys in
six categories including electric, plastic and
metal products as well as baby carriers, CNCA
officials said. The Chinese mainland has since
issued compulsory certifications to 162 types of
products in 23 categories, according to CNCA
statistics. CCCLA figures show the mainland now
has more than 8,000 toy manufacturers with an
annual output value exceeding 50 billion yuan
(US$6.2 billion).
At the same time,
China's toy industry is also trying to find ways
to expand its huge domestic market, according to a
Xinhua News Agency report. China's mainland has
286 million children under the age of 14; however,
per capita, only $3.60 per year is spent on toys,
compared with $34 per year spent on toys in the
United States. Nevertheless, insiders say they
believe China's domestic toy market value could
exceed $3.75 billion annually.
