Exports growth

The large amount of exports has prompted customs authorities to keep a close eye on the quality of the products.

At Shaoyang Customs, inspections of lighters make up a large portion of officers' daily work.

At the customs office, an exhibition details the development of Shaodong's lighter industry and showcases different lighters made by local companies.

Since 2001, customs authorities have been required to conduct mandatory checks on all exported lighters to ensure their quality. Last year, Shaoyang Customs handled 3,500 batches of lighter exports. Shaodong is under the administration of Shaoyang.

The quality of lighters is tested and each batch goes through rigorous checks, said Wang Peng, an official with Shaoyang Customs.

The checks include 12 steps to make sure the lighters function properly in different circumstances, Wang said.

A test lighter, for example, is dropped from a height of 1.5 meters in three different positions. To pass the inspection it must stay intact and have no gas leakage.

The lighters are also put in containers set at 65 C for four hours to make sure they are resistant to high temperatures.

Last year, lighters worth 3.74 billion yuan in total were exported from Shaodong, accounting for half of China's lighter exports, according to Shaoyang Customers.

While the majority are budget-friendly disposable lighters, there is a growing portion of high-end ones.

Customs data shows that the total export volume to Europe and North America increased steadily from 290 million yuan in 2020 to more than 500 million yuan last year.

Ouyang said that international business and branding strategies have become competitive strengths for Shaodong lighter companies. It is also important to push for high-quality development of the enterprises.

In the future, the core competitive strength of lighter companies will grow and they will continue to make an impact in the international market, he added.