Father Christmas lives in China

More than 80 per cent of the toys imported into the EU come from China, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Communities, said.

Between 1999 and 2004, EU25 imports of toys rose from €4 billion to €4.8 billion, while exports grew from €0.6 to €0.7 billion.

China is by far the largest supplier of toys to the EU25, its share of total EU imports of toys rising from 76 per cent in 1999 to 81 per cent in 2004. Switzerland was second, with a share of only four per cent.

Almost half of EU25 imports of toys went to the United Kingdom (€1.3 billion) and Germany (€0.9 billion).

Eurostat said that three quarters of sparkling wine exports come from France.

With exports of €970 million in 2004, the EU25 is a significant supplier of sparkling wines to the rest of the world. France (€740 million) accounted for more than three quarters of this total. Italy (€110 million) and Spain (€70 million) were the only other significant exporters among the member states.

Ninety-seven per cent of imported Christmas tree lights also come from China.

The EU25 imported €600 million worth of Christmas articles (mainly Christmas decorations and artificial Christmas trees) and €220 million worth of Christmas tree lights in 2004.

The leading importer of both products was the United Kingdom (€169 million of Christmas articles and €57 million of Christmas tree lights), followed by Germany (€81 million and €34 million respectively) and Italy (€80 million and €28 million).

Nearly all of these products were imported from China: 87 per cent of the Christmas articles and 97 per cent of the Christmas tree lights.