Japanese electronics firm Sanyo plans to buy nearly all parts for its digital cameras from China by the end of 2005 to help offset falling retail prices for the finished product.
Sanyo currently secures about 50% of digital camera parts in China with the rest coming from Japan or South Korea.
But it intends to shift by the end of next year to nearly 100% procurement from China, where costs are lower, Sanyo electric managing director Hiroshi Ono said.
Sanyo will also send on components bought in China to other parts of Asia for assembly.
As digital cameras go mainstream, prices have dropped sharply, spelling trouble for electronics makers. Both Sanyo and Olympus saw their profits plunge in their last six-month financial periods.
