Big trouble in Toyland

NEWDELHI: There's trouble brewing in Toyland. The six-month ban on import ofChinese toys may be a welcome move for the Indian toy industry. It may alsoensure `safer' toys for our children, provided our own toys are put under thescanner too. But it would also mean depriving children and harassed parents of abig range of attractive and affordable toys. The weekly visits to the toy shopswill get quite expensive and may eventually stop.Retailers say theban will have little impact on market supply for now as the stocks of Chinesetoys lying in warehouses of importers and wholesalers would easily last for thenext five to six months. But if the ban is extended, Indian children may have tolook to the west as our own toys are not as attractive."The Indiantoy industry is still not properly evolved. The price factor apart, Chinese toysare much more attractive and have a wider range compared to what is manufacturedin the country. A blanket ban on all imports from China would only deprivechildren as toys made in Europe and US will prove too expensive,'' said SatishSundra, owner of Ram Chander and Sons, one of theoldest toy stores in thecapital.Toy sellers claim that more than 70 per cent of the stocksof toy shops in the city comprises of Chinese toys. There are some Indiancompanies which give them competition in terms of quality and range but theChinese toys are more cost-effective overall. "They sell more because they arecheaper and at the same time offer better quality and more variety than Indiantoys. 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 takenwell to them. Also, Indian manufacturers still can't match the quality of thesetoys,'' said Saurabh Kharbanda of Maya Sports, who have been in the trade forover 40 years.Though the real reason for the ban is still beingdebated, sources said this could be a move by the government to protect theIndian toy industry. Since the Chinese invasion, small Indian toy manufacturershave suffered as they hardly find any takers. The indigenous toy industry hascome a long way since and a marked improvement is seen in Indian toys owing tocompetition. But retailers feel we still have a long way to go.Toymanufacturers have welcomed the move. "It's a step in the right direction.Chinese goods are substandard and have been a threat to the unorganised toysector. The reason for this is that toy manufacturing was a small-scale sectorin India till recently. The Chinese goods came in just when big investmentstarted because of which the sector was never allowed to develop. It will get abreather now,'' said Rajan Handa, owner of OK Play Toys.Industrysources feel that doubts of the west about the toxicity of Chinese toys are notbaseless. According to reports, nearly 80 per cent of our toys are imported fromChina and a large chunk is non-branded. Their quality is highly suspect. Butparents in India are still not as conscious about child safety as is the case inthe US and Europe, due to which there is still a huge demand for Chineseproducts.So, are Indian toys safe? Said Rajesh Arora, generalsecretary of Toys Association of India: "India is now exporting toys to US andEurope, and our exports have shown a growth rate of about 20% per annum. Thiscan't happen without quality production. But toy making also happens in theunorganised sector, with little checks. We are trying to create awareness aboutthat to make our toys safer.''A better solution, feels Sundra, wouldbe to impose strict quality control at the customs to ensure only "safe'' toyscome in. "A blanket ban on Chinese toys is no solution,'' he feels.