Camera

The global digital camera business was estimated to be worth US$24 billion in 2005. A significant part of this business comes from mainland China and Taiwan — regions which have become known as major digital camera supply bases over the past few years. Industry analysts regard mainland China as being the primary source of low-cost digital cameras. Taiwan, for its part, is credited with a 30 percent share of the digital camera market, following industry leader Japan. According to the China Culture & Office Equipment Professional Association, mainland China produced 73 million digital cameras in 2005. Of this volume, 61 million units were exported to Europe, the United States and Japan. In the same period, according to the Market Intelligence Center in Taiwan, the production output of companies with headquarters on the island totaled 21 million units, which were all exported. Much of this volume was produced in factories in mainland China. Digital camera manufacture in mainland China and Taiwan is heavily OEM or ODM-oriented.