Chinese costs tightenHelen Jacobs February 29, 11:32am
Baby toy manufacturers to switch to other product lines or cease operations according to a report.
The costs associated with complying to stricter overseas and domestic regulations is pushing many small to medium baby toy manufacturers to switch product lines or close down, according to Global Sources’ China Sourcing Report: Baby Toys.
The survey found that 41 per cent of suppliers believed stricter overseas standards would be a big challenge over the next year. 23 per cent identified price competition as their biggest challenge while 18 per cent indicated higher raw material costs.
Other challenges indicated were design copying, piracy and labour shortages.
'Due to these higher costs, we expect consolidation in the industry with a number of small to medium manufacturers switching to other product lines or shutting down permanently,” Spenser Au, the report’s publisher said.