China and Hong Kong (China) are the largest identified exporters of dangerous fakes, accounting for more than three-quarters of seizures. Postal parcels – driven by the rising popularity of e-commerce – are the most common method of shipping dangerous fakes, significantly complicating screening and detection processes and lowering the risk of detection and penalties. The European Union and the United States were the main destination economies of the small parcels containing dangerous goods. However, in terms of the value of seizures, shipments by sea cargo clearly dominate. The distribution of destinations of dangerous fakes shipped by sea varied, with Arabian Gulf countries at the top of the list.
A more focused, narrow approach looks only at foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and goods’ categories that have been most frequently subject of safety alerts and recalls. This approach reveals that the most commonly traded product categories of dangerous fakes were perfumery and cosmetics, clothing, toys, automotive spare parts and pharmaceuticals. Most of these goods originated in China (55% of global customs seizures) and Hong Kong (China) (19%). 60% of dangerous goods seized were shipped by postal services, while sea was the dominant transport mode in terms of seized value.
Online sales represented 60% of global seizures of dangerous products destined for the EU. In terms of seized value, they represented only a small share, however. Among dangerous fakes ordered online cosmetics items were the most common, followed by clothing, toys and automotive spare parts. Most of these goods (75%) were shipped from China.
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