No toy products without compulsory certification will be allowed to leave factories, be sold or be imported into China by June 1, 2007, according to a China Daily report on Saturday.

 

Liu Weijun, chief engineer of Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA), said in Beijing on Friday that as from March 1, toy producers in China have been able to apply to three certification agencies nominated by the CNCA to certify their products.

 

The administration has nominated 15 institutions to examine toys for certification, he said.

 

Rag dolls and electronic toys produced by two manufacturers in South China's Guangdong Province were reported to have received the China Compulsory Certification (CCC) last week.

 

Such measures are expected to mitigate the increasing international pressure on environmental protection and worries that inferior and bogus toy products may threat health and safety of babies and children.

 

China's toy products account for 75 percent of the world's toy output, according to statistics from the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Light Industrial Products and Arts-Crafts (CCCLA).

 

They are being exported to Europe, the United States, Japan and other regions and countries, it said.

 

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.

 

Insiders said they believe China's domestic toy market value could exceed 3.75 billion U.S. dollars annually.

 

CCCLA figures show the mainland now has more than 8,000 toy manufacturers with an annual output value exceeding 50 billion yuan (US$6.25 billion).

 

(China Daily April 1, 2006)