March 2, 2006
Taiwan boasted the fourth largest number of participating enterprises at the world's largest toy fair in early February. Of the 64 nations represented at the Spielwarenmesse International Toy Fair 2006 in Nurnberg, Germany, the only countries, with the exception of Germany itself, sending bigger delegations were China, Hongkong and Italy.
The massive annual toy exhibition saw nearly one million products from 64 countries. Over 2,780 companies were represented at the fair. Ninety-two Taiwanese enterprises took part in the toy fair, while China sent 269, Hongkong 206 and Italy 171.
Though Taiwan has developed into one of the world's major sources of microelectronics and optoelectronics since the days it was widely known as the Toy Kingdom, the nation remains a major player in the global toy industry. At their peak, Taiwan's toy makers generated an annual export value of
USD 1 billion. In 2005, the export value of Taiwan's toys reached
USD 490 million.
The decline in this export value is attributed to low labor-cost competition from developing nations and the shift in focus of Taiwanese manufacturers towards electronics. However, with more and more microchips appearing in toys these days, Taiwan finds itself in a particularly good position to regain its standing as the Toy Kingdom.
(Central News Agency)
E-mail this page.
Invest in Taiwan
