Sales of firecrackers have been gaining momentum thanks to the easing of the ban
on firecrackers in Beijing and other major cities during this Spring Festival.
Starting last Sunday and until February 12, Beijing is allowing sales of
firecrackers in the city centre.
It means residents can more easily enjoy the spectacle of firecrackers from
the lunar New Year eve to the lunar Lantern
Festival.
The liberation on the use of firecrackers in the capital reflects a national
trend that involves 22 other provincial cities and municipalities.
It follows
growing calls from residents to be able to celebrate Spring Festival with
firecrackers.
The market demand is on the rise after dwindling due to the 12-year ban in
Beijing. Surveys show that expenditure on firecrackers in Beijing in the
two-week long holiday will reach 60 million yuan (US$7.39 million).
About 600,000 boxes of firecrackers, worth more than 100 million yuan
(US$12.5 million), have been distributed to registered stores in the Chinese
capital so far, according to Xinhua
News Agency.
"Sales have made a huge leap this year," said Huang Wenhui, general manager
of Liuyang-based Flying Eagle Firecrackers Company, one of the largest privately
owned firecrackers manufacturers in the country.
Huang also heads the business chamber of 13 firecrackers manufacturers in
Liuyang that are permitted providers for the Beijing Federation of Supply and
Marketing Co-operatives, the capital's only firecrackers distributor.
More than 60 per cent of all the firecrackers produced from the federation's
34 permitted manufacturers hail from the city in Central China's Hunan
Province.
Flying Eagle Firecrackers Company has seen its revenue jump four-fold to 2
million yuan (US$247,000) ahead of the Spring Festival, Huang said.
With the ban lifted, there has been an added emphasis on the safety of
products.
"Firecrackers should bring happiness to people in holiday season," Huang
said. "But sadly, some poor-quality products often lead to tragedy."
A total of 2,642 Beijingers were injured because of firecrackers during
Spring Festivals from 1987 to 1993, statistics show.
During the years of ban, hospitals saw a drastic drop in people needing
treatment for firecracker-related injuries.
