Local toy industry set to feel the heat from Chinese products
The toy industry will face stiff competition when cheap imports from China enter the Thai market, according to Kasikorn Research Centre.
Toy exports also face a hard year with scant economic growth in main markets, the United States and Japan. According to the "Global Trade Atlas", the world toy market dropped 0.1 per cent in the first six months of last year from US$11.37 billion (Bt408.6 billion) in the first half of 2005 to $11.36 billion. The main exporter is China, with 31.5 per cent of total value, followed by Hong Kong with 29 per cent. The Customs Department says Thailand exported toys worth Bt7.7 billion in the first eleven months of last year, up 5.4 per cent on the same period of 2005. Kasikorn Research Centre estimates exports worth Bt8.2 billion to the end of last year. It said Thailand's toy industry had to differentiate its exports from cheap Chinese products. "Thailand has to be innovative to compete with China and develop its products for the export market," it said, adding that this would stand it in good stead domestically too. The research house estimates toy exports worth Bt8.5 billion this year, up 5 per cent from last year, despite the competition.
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