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Japan's Tomy to slash toy production in China

Other News Materials 1 November 2007 07:44 (UTC +04:00)

( AFP ) - Major Japanese toymaker Tomy plans to slash production in China by one-third due to surging labour costs, shifting it to other Asian countries, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

Tomy makes 90 percent of its products in China in revenue terms with some 10 percent done in Thailand.

"We aim to shift some 30 percent of the (Chinese) production to elsewhere over the three years," Tomy spokeswoman Shigemi Sugaya said.

Costs are rising rapidly due to a labour shortage around southern Guangdong province where Tomy products are being made, she noted.

"Not only us, but also other toymakers are recognising various risks arising from concentrating production in one place.

"Our candidates as the destination for the shifted production include Vietnam," she said, suggesting Thailand is another candidate as Tomy has a factory there.

Sugaya denied the planned cutback in Chinese output stemmed from global scares over the safety of Chinese-made products.

"There has been controversy over Chinese goods since summer but we have taken as many measures as possible to ensure safety," she added.

US toymakers have made a series of high-profile recalls because of high levels of lead.

Tomy has not recalled its toys made in China this year but issued a recall of 2,730 Mattel minicars in August which a group firm distributed in Japan.

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