The output value of China's gift industry rose 12 percent year on year to about 200 billion yuan (25 billion U.S. dollars) in 2006, the latest statistics have shown.

Currently, China has more than 10,000 gift enterprises, some of which boasts an annual output value of over 500 million yuan (62.5million U.S. dollars) each.

Most of these enterprises are located in south China's Guangdong Province, eastern provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangsu, and big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.

Made-in-China gifts and souvenirs such as fashionable ornaments, picture frames, festival lamps, Christmas articles, hairy toys and leisure commodities make up an overwhelming part of the world market, according to light industrial association sources.

However, experts pointed out that Chinese gift enterprises are small in size and are not competitive on the market due to lack of awareness of intellectual property rights and independently-developed brand name.

Source: Xinhua