BEIJING, Feb. 11 -- One week ahead of Spring Festival, China's firework companies are feeling heavy pressure as they face a stagnant market going into their busiest sales period, with demand shrinking amid bans on firework displays.

Setting off fireworks during the Lunar New Year is an age-old tradition in China, with ancient superstitions believing the light and sound would scare away evil spirits. In more recent years, they're used to bring a festive atmosphere during the country's most important holiday.

However, fireworks have been increasingly blamed for contributing to the country's smog problem, pushing local governments to implement measures forbidding or limiting firework displays.

Yan Zhengbin, an official with the Ministry of Public Security, said a total of 138 cities have introduced bans and 536 cities have issued restrictions so far.

Though the move has been applauded by those concerned for the environment, companies who rely on fireworks for a living are feeling unprecedented pressure.

According to a salesman with Panda Fireworks based in the central Hunan Province, the company has stocked 150,000 cases of fireworks, much less than previous years.

"The orders we have received this year have fallen off, with 20 percent less than last year," he said.

A salesman surnamed Wang with Beifanghuapao firework company in the northeastern Jilin Province said business has been on a downward slope during the past few years.

Sales for this year have been reduced by half from the same period last year, he said, adding their current inventory may be enough to satisfy sales for the next few years with the current market outlook.

"The company will have to consider turning to other business if the market continues to deteriorate," Wang said.

In Beijing, the official period to sell fireworks has been shortened from 20 to 11 days this year. The number of licensed retail outlets was down by 20 percent year on year to 942. The city has stocked up 315,000 cases of fireworks, which is 200,000 cases less than last year.

In December, government of Nanchang, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province announced the cancellation of a large-scale fireworks display which was scheduled to be held on December 31 in order to "reduce emission of pollution and maintain fine air quality".

Lidu fireworks company, located in Jiangxi, is a leading producer of large-scale fireworks. The company's vice general manager Hou Zhongping said their business has been hit by nationwide cancellations of large fireworks shows in the past few years.

THE GREEN WAY OUT?

Under the pressure of environmental concerns, producers are working to develop more environmentally-friendly fireworks.

The alternative products are mostly made with improved black powder and new chemicals, which contain less heavy metal and sulphur, reducing emission of harmful sulfide.

According to Panda Fireworks, the company developed sulfide-free fireworks last year, which now account for 70 percent of the products prepared for sale this Spring Festival.

Now, 70 to 80 percent of Lidu's production are environmentally friendly, Hou said.

Green fireworks, however, are still too new, with high research and development costs pushing up the retail price.

According to Wang Sheng, a firework store owner, the price of one box of sulfide-free green fireworks is about 600 yuan (95.9 U.S. dollars), 10 to 15 percent higher than normal fireworks.

In China' Henan Province, an inventor has created a new kind of firecracker that uses no explosives.

Producing an explosive sound by releasing compressed air from a closed cavity, his fireworks cost around 150 yuan per unit, ten times the price of traditional firecrackers.

The price of green products will hopefully drop as market demand and production expand.

Chen Jian, a political advisor in Jiangxi Province, said local governments should take measures to help the firework companies research and develop environmentally-friendly products.

Rao Hui, chief engineer of the environment monitoring station of Nanchang City, said green fireworks can both satisfy the needs of environmental protection and reservation of traditional customs.

Authorities should help strengthen the market demand for green fireworks by heightening public awareness of the merits of the products, he said.