The country's 24,000 licensed chemical producers will be required to list and classify all their products to the State Administration for Work Safety (SAWS) by the end of next year, as part of efforts to improve industry safety, authorities said yesterday.

Li Yuncai, an official of the National Registration Center for Chemicals under the SAWS, said: "About 17,000 producers of hazardous chemicals including explosive materials, flammable liquid and solid, toxic articles, have already been registered with the authority."

The biggest beneficiary will be the carriers or customers of the hazardous chemicals, Li said.