According to customs statistics, in the first 10 months of this year, China’s total import and export value of goods trade was RMB 25.95 trillion, an increase of 1.1% over the same period last year. Among them, exports were 14.33 trillion yuan, an increase of 2.4%; imports were 11.62 trillion yuan, a decrease of 0.5%。Among them, exports of mechanical and electrical products, textiles, and plastic products increased, while exports of clothing, footwear, and cases & bags declined. In the first 10 months, China exported toys of 184.31 billion yuan, an increase of 3%.

 The Chinese toy industry has produced annual growth of around 9% since 2016. It was valued at 153.9 billion RMB in 2019 and is projected to reach 186.2 billion RMB by 2022. China is also a dominant player with respect to toy exports, producing $44 billion-worth of toys for export in 2016, with more than half destined for America. 

Chinese toy consumers are inclined towards hands-on products, like construction-style gadgets and building blocks. Between 2012 and 2017, sales of building and construction toys, like LEGO and miniature excavators and dump trucks, grew by 205%. This growth rate was followed by remote control toys at 76% growth, with outdoor and sports-related toys, arts and crafts materials, and model vehicles rounding out the top five quickest growing categories during that time frame. For context, construction toys (also the #1 overall category in terms of GMV) are predicted to reach over $15 billion in sales by 2022.