Stringent safety measures implemented in the wake of
high-profile toy recalls last year will drive up the cost of
China-made toys by at least 10 percent this year, an industry
executive said yesterday.
Hong Kong toy makers, most of which have production lines in
China's mainland, have been struggling to repair reputations
damaged by last year's recalls of millions of potentially hazardous
toys.
Added checks along the supply chain are driving up costs and
production time, however, said Michelle Chong, assistant to the
director of The Toy Company (Hong Kong) Ltd, the buyer for a toy
wholesaler in Germany.
Chong said her company expected to spend US$1 million this year
on quality control - up from US$300,000 in previous years - to test
each of the painted toys they buy before they are shipped to the
wholesaler.
Overall, the new checks and balances could push up prices by an
extra 10 percent this year and dent their competitiveness, she
said.
"I'm not particularly worried about (the quality of) our
exports," Chong said. "I'm more concerned about the production
period, which now takes longer as we have to comply with the more
stringent safety requirements."
Chong's company was one of 2,000 exhibitors from 36 countries at
the annual Hong Kong Toys and Games Fair, which runs through
Sunday. It was organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development
Council, a semi-government agency that promotes Hong Kong
goods.
The fair was running alongside a second, similar one this week.
Both were trying to rebuild trust in the Hong Kong and China
brands.
Jeffrey Lam, chairman of the council's toy advisory committee,
said the recalls of China-made toys were having a limited impact on
Hong Kong, the world's second-largest toy exporter after the
Chinese mainland.
Hong Kong toy exports grew 25 percent to US$11.4 billion in the
first 11 months in 2007 over the same period of the previous year,
he said.
(Shanghai Daily January 8, 2008)
