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.
June 21, 2012