Spring Festival firework sales sluggish amid smog
- Details
- Category: Ningbo News
- Published: Monday, 03 February 2014 10:52
Retail stalls in Ningbo have been permitted to sell fireworks since this Tuesday, however, several firework retailers said they had significantly reduced their stock as the as residents have exercised restraint in order to ward off smog and fewer people come to buy fireworks now.
According to Mr. Jin, a grocery store owner in Jiangdong District, he has been selling fireworks in recent years during Spring Festivals. He said he used to have a giant pile of firecrackers in his store in previous years. However, the fireworks stock this year was so small that it occupies just a corner of the store. When asking about the sale of fireworks, Jin shook his head and said: "No one has asked the price yet so far."
According to a survey of the passers-by, the surveyed residents support the practice of avoiding the use of fireworks proposed by Ningbo Evening News last month.
The Municipal Administration of Work Safety said on Tuesday that they authorized 16 fireworks wholesalers, 1,539 long-term fireworks retailers, and 349 seasonal fireworks retailers during this Spring Festival. Compared with previous years, the number of firework retailers dropped by nearly 500.
According to an official of the Municipal Administration of Work Safety, the retailers are reducing their stocks as fireworks sales decreased year by year. Many retailers even abandoned the sale of fireworks due to dropping sales and tightened requirement over firework retail. Since the "Rules on Retail Fireworks" was issued last December, safety authority will no longer grant sales license for unqualified retailers and forbid retailers with poor credit record from selling fireworks.
As the stalls that registered for fireworks sales decreased, the orders for fireworks are also on the decline. Statistics show the orders in urban districts during the Spring Festival were only one-third of last year. Safety authority said that the effect of fireworks on air pollution has drawn attention from the public, who actively support the proposal of celebrating a firework-free Spring Festival.
