Home appliance sales in China between January and October of this year totalled RMB 565.9bn ($82.6bn), up by 16% year-on-year. Production of most appliances made in China during the period grew between 1% and 16.6% depending on the product.

However, production of air conditioners in January-October dropped 0.5% to 75m units because of the weak real estate market. Although refrigerator, washing machine and television set production increased by 3.5%, 13.9% and 13.8% respectively, their growth rates have been slowing.

Appliance industry sources believe production of most home appliances will increase in 2009 because of China’s ongoing urbanization. But growth is likely to slow in line with the wider Chinese economy.