With the allocation of dedicated spectrum and forecast sales growth of 50%, China’s RFID market is moving into the sweet spot. The near-field radio standard is also being touted as a solution to the country’s scandal-racked food quality administration.

The Chinese RFID market was worth 1.66 billion yuan last year, and experts forecast it will reach 2.6 billion in 2007, a 50% growth rate, China Business News reported.

The MII announced in mid-July that it would allocate spectrum in the 800/900 MHz range for RFID applications. The ministry is now expanding RFID trials – Qingdao city is planning six pilots, while Beijing, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Dalian, Chengdu and other cities are actively testing RFID tags and applications.

Zhang Qi, the deputy director of MII’s electronic technology committee, said RFID was now being tested all around the country.

Many of these are in food processing and agriculture, she said, where RFID is being applied to prevent fakes and provide security management. RFID tags are also supporting commercialization of rural products and for public security, production management and logistics, Zhang said.

With a plethora of North American and European standards organizations involved in setting RFID standards, China also has intensified its own standard-setting. This is handed by the MII’s electronics labeling standards work group, set up in October 2005 and also headed by Zhang Qi. The group already has 150 foreign and domestic firms working with it.

Zhang said China has already developed a wide range of electronic cards, read-write tools, applications and systems. “The industry chain for intelligent cards in China has already taken shape,” she said.