Lighting products supplier Wen Binguo, based in Zhongshan's Guzhen Town, one of China's leading manufacturing bases for lighting products, has seen exports drop over the past few months  and he says strict new European Union standards are to blame.

"The European Union has so many compulsory restrictions related to lighting products that I can hardly manage to have a thorough understanding of them," he said.

Wen, in his 50s, runs a medium-sized lighting products company. Decorative lighting products dominate his product range. His company relies heavily on overseas orders, including those from the European Union, the United States and Southeast Asia.

"I began to feel the pressure of business decline early this year," he said. "Several of my partners in Europe told me that I have to modify my products in order to meet the compulsory standards on Christmas lighting products, which came into effect in February."

The new standards impose strict safety restrictions on Christmas lighting products in terms of power leakage, temperature and breakage.

"I've become very cautious about orders from the European Union for Christmas lighting products and I'm trying to improve my products to conform with the standards."

He said the new standards caused his exports to the European Union to drop about 30 per cent in the first five months of this year, but he did not disclose the exact figure.

"What is making me out of breath now is the initiative of RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances)."

The RoHS directive, effective from July, requires all products to be certified as not exceeding set levels of six known pollutants: lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl, and polybrominated diphenyl ether.

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