The second International Trade Fair for Toys, Hobbies and Gifts is scheduled to be held from October 8-11 in Shanghai, the leading economic powerhouse in the China.

Up to 15,000 people are expected to visit the fair, jointly sponsored by the China Toys Association and German Nuremberg Toys Exhibition Corporation.

At the fair, Chinese toy companies will exhibit a variety of toys, while overseas firms will put on show aircraft models, car models and adult hobby toys.

Shi Xiaoguang, director of the association, said Saturday that China has now become one of the largest toy producers and the largest potential market in the world.

China now boasts 8,000 toy companies employing 3 million workers, according to latest statistics from the association.

In 2002, China exported 9.93 billion US dollars-worth of toys, accounting for one tenth of the total exports in its light industry sector. In the meantime, the country imported a total of 192 million US dollars of toys, up 70 percent on 1999.
 
(Xinhua News Agency October 4, 2003)