toys manufacturers

There’s trouble brewing in Toyland. The sixmonth ban on import of Chinese toys may be a welcome move for the Indian toy industry. It may also ensure ‘safer’ toys for our children, provided our own toys are put under the scanner too. But it would also mean depriving children — and harassed parents — of a big range of attractive and affordable toys. The weekly visits to the toy shops will get quite expensive and may eventually stop. Retailers say the ban will have little impact on market supply for now as the stocks of Chinese toys lying in warehouses of importers and wholesalers would easily last for the next five to six months. But if the ban is extended, Indian children may have to look to the west as our own toys are not as attractive. ‘‘The Indian toy industry is still not properly evolved. The price factor apart, Chinese toys are much more attractive and have a wider range compared to what is manufactured in the country. A blanket ban on all imports from China would only deprive children as toys suppliers made in Europe and US will prove too expensive,’’ said Satish Sundra, owner of Ram Chander and Sons, one of theoldest toy stores in the capital. Toy sellers claim that more than 70 per cent of the stocks of toy shops in the city comprises of Chinese toys. There are some Indian companies which give them competition in terms of quality and range but the Chinese toys are more cost-effective overall. ‘‘They sell more because they are cheaper and at the same time offer better quality and more variety than toys manufacturers India. Children like to get a new toy every week, and since the ‘Made in China’ variety is about 75% cheaper than the Indian counterparts, parents have taken well to them. Also, Indian manufacturers still can’t match the quality of these toys,’’ said Saurabh Kharbanda of Maya Sports, who have been in the trade for over 40 years. Though the real reason for the ban is still being debated, sources said this could be a move by the government to protect the Indian toy industry. Since the Chinese invasion, small Indian toy manufacturers have suffered as they hardly find any takers. The indigenous toy industry has come a long way since and a marked improvement is seen in Indian toys owing to competition. But retailers feel we still have a long way to go. toys manufacturers have welcomed the move. ‘‘It’s a step in the right direction. Chinese goods are substandard and have been a threat to the unorganised toy sector. The reason for this is that toy manufacturing was a small-scale sector in India till recently. The Chinese goods came in just when big investment started because of which the sector was never allowed to develop. It will get a breather now,’’ said Rajan Handa, owner of OK Play Toys. Industry sources feel that doubts of the west about the toxicity of Chinese toys are not baseless. According to reports, nearly 80 per cent of our toys are imported from China and a large chunk is non-branded. Their quality is highly suspect. But parents in India are still not as conscious about child safety as is the case in the US and Europe, due to which there is still a huge demand for Chinese products. So, are Indian toys safe? Said Rajesh Arora, general secretary of Toys Association of India: ‘‘India is now exporting toys to US and Europe, and our exports have shown a growth rate of about 20% per annum. This can’t happen without quality production. But toy making also happens in the unorganised sector, with little checks. We are trying to create awareness about that to make our toys safer.’’ A better solution, feels Sundra, would be to impose strict quality control at the customs to ensure only ‘‘safe’’ toys come in. ‘‘A blanket ban on Chinese toys is no solution,’’ he feels.