Growing demand

The volume of outdoor lighting exported by Chinese manufacturers amounts to US $ 1 bn. And it is increasing steadily, even though extremely tough competition and rising prices for raw materials and components do constitute a challenge. This emerges from the China Sourcing Report: Outdoor Lighting published by Global Sources. The category of solar lights is responsible for the greater part of this growth, and the demand for environmentally friendly products is especially noticeable. The palette of solar lights has seen strong growth over the last three years. Today they are principally manufactured for export, and amount to 25 per cent of the country's entire outdoor lighting exports. The production of solar lamps went up by 94 per cent in 2004, reaching a total of 60 mio units valued at US $ 250 mio according to estimates from Global Sources.