Inside China Today

Product safety problems related to the collapse of half of China’s toy exporters

According to figures released by China Customs, between January and July this year, the number of toy exporters with a turnover of less than USD $100,000 stands at 1,574, down more than 3600 or 52.7% compared to the same period last year. Nearly half of China’s toy exporters have collapsed during the year and there are indications the trend is related to buyers weary about product safety issues.
While the total amount of exports still topped USD$5.1 billion, this is only a 1% increase from last year. The downturn of nearly 22% has caught the attention of analysts. One analyst points out that the reduction in exports is due to toxic China products.

On October 12, authorities in the United States announced an immediate recall of 330,000 Chinese made toy guns due to product safety issues, and in recent times, toy giant Mattel and its subsidiary Fisher-Price have also had to make unprecedented recalls of toys imported from China that contained higher than acceptable lead content.

Around the world, countries including Japan, Peru and Russia have also taken problem toys off the shelves, and the most widely circulated newspaper in Canada, the Toronto Star reported in July that its reporter has found that over 40% of toys in retail shops around Toronto contain excess lead, with most of the products coming from China.

The above news was hosted by Chris Thomas for Inside China Today on the SOH Radio Network.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites