Canton Fair Organizers Report Results From 111th Event (China)

Organizers of the 111th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) — a mammoth trade fair comprising three phases covering a wide range of commercial products and held consecutively between April 15 and May 5, 2012, at the China Import and Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou, China — report that trade at the fair's latest edition was affected by economic conditions in Europe and the United States, but not as much as had been widely expected.

The Canton Fair is organized by the China Foreign Trade Centre. It is hosted by the Ministry of Commerce, People's Republic of China; and the People's Government of Guangdong Province. The venue offers an exhibition area of 1.16 million square meters and 58,700 booths.

Although attendance broke records — 210,000 buyers from 213 countries and regions attended the fair, representing increases of 0.23 percent and 1.23 percent, respectively from the 110th and 109th editions held in 2011 — export values, at US$36.03 billion, were 2.3-percent lower than year-earlier values and 4.8-percent lower than fall 2011 values; and trade volumes were 8.1-percent lower than spring 2011 volumes and 5.6-percent lower than fall 2011 volumes.

Emerging markets including India, Brazil and Russia registered an average 4.1-percent increase in trade volumes, while African markets registered a 13.5-percent increase in these volumes.

More than 520 companies from 44 countries and regions presented their products and services at the Canton Fair International Pavilion. Organizers expressed hopes to attract more foreign companies in the future, particularly from industries targeting environmental markets, and reported that most of the International Pavilion booths have already been booked for the 112th Canton Fair scheduled for fall 2012.

Buyers attending the fair were quite positive in their assessment of the event. For example, Kristrian Holmqvist, a first-time attendee from Finland, stated: "It saved me a lot of time from going to many places to search for new suppliers. Here is a great platform for us to find business opportunities. For the financial crisis around the world, it's hard to say that it has specific effect on my business. But the Canton Fair does provide better ideas on doing trade business and make us to be more competitive."

The 112th edition of the fair will be held from Oct. 15 to Nov. 4, 2012, at the China Import and Export Fair Complex. Phase 1, scheduled for October 15-19, will offer electronics and household electrical appliances, lighting equipment, vehicles and spare parts, machinery, hardware and tools, building materials, and chemical products. Phase 2, October 23-27, will include consumer goods, gifts and home decorations. Categories offered during Phase 3, October 31-November 4, include textiles and garments, shoes, office supplies, cases and bags, recreation products, medicines, medical devices and health products, and food. Phases 1 and 3 will also include international pavilions.