ONLY 25 out of 3,000 toy manufacturers in Guangdong have received toy export quality licences, a year after the standards initiative was announced.
The lack of response from factories may hinder China's efforts to improve toy standards.
The China Import and Export Commodity Inspection Bureau is believed to have introduced the system in response to concerns that Western countries might use product safety worries to justify import barriers against Chinese exports.
Most of Guangdong's toy factories are believed to have been set up over the past decade by Hong Kong manufacturers who shifted there to take advantage of lower costs and plentiful labour.
Toy manufacturers are not required to meet the safety standards before exporting, although overseas buyers are likely to ask them to have their products tested by independent laboratories.
But from July next year, toy manufacturers without a quality licence will find it difficult to export.
