October 16, 2009 18:38 PM

Toy Exports Hit Intra-year Record High In South China Production Base

GUANGZHOU, Oct 16 (Bernama) -- Toy exports in south China's Guangdong Province, a key global toy production base, climbed to a record monthly high of the year in September, Xinhua news agency reported quoting local customs as saying Friday.

The toy shipments stood at US$780 million, a 16.5 percent increase from August.

The figure, however, represented a drop of 7.1 percent from the same month last year, compared with a 10.1 percent decline in August.

Exports have been climbing on a month-on-month basis since July when the traditional peak season for toy sales started.

The toy exports for the January-September period valued US$3.99 billion, a decline of 10.9 percent from a year earlier.

The shipments to the United States in the nine months stood at US$1.57 billion, down 16.1 percent from a year earlier. Exports to the European Union fell 9.8 percent to US$1.01 billion.

The shipments to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) surged 77.1 percent to US$180 million in the period.

The toy producers will have a bumpy road to recovery considering higher demands on safety and environment standards in some export destinations, the Guangzhou Customs said in a statement.

The customs urged local toy makers to produce safer products and boost innovation and new product development to better cushion future crisis.

-- BERNAMA

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