China toys improving quality, popular among EU customers

Beijing: The quality of China-made toys, which take the lion’s share of the European Union market, has been improving over the years, an industry association official said Thursday. “Currently, 80 per cent toys in the EU market are made in China. “The deep market penetration shows that Chinese products are very popular among EU customers,” said Lin Feng, secretary general of the Guangdong Toy Association. Toy producers in the southern Guangdong province contribute 70 per cent of the country’s total exports.

Last year, they exported US$17.6billion (F$ 36.51) worth of toys, and of all, US$4bn (F$8.3bn) worth of toys, an annual growth of nine per cent, were shipped to the EU market. The high base could make the number of product recalls look bigger, Lin said. On Monday, the EU said China remains the number one country of origin for unsafe imports of consumer products, with toys the most common products detected at 27 percent. Data with the association showed that the quality of Chinese toys has been improving, Ms Lin said. Product recalls from the American market have been declining while recalls from the European market have been remained steady over the past few years, she added. “Most of the recalls, however, are made by European brands. The original equipment manufacturers (OEM) in China churn out products according to the exact demands of their clients,” Ms Lin said. Xinhua