On the afternoon of May 5, the press conference for the closing of 119^th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) was held at the venue where the fair was held. Xu Bing, press spokesman of Canton Fair and deputy director of China Foreign Trade Centre, made an introduction to the overall operation of the 119^th Canton Fair to the domestic and foreign media.

 

Relevant data indicated that, the number of overseas purchasers to the fair slightly increased by 0.43% compared with that at the Canton Fair in the spring of 2015 (year-on-year, the same below); the accumulated volume of transactions for export reached RMB182.288 billion (equal to USD28.084 billion), up 0.1% year-on-year. It was for the first time since the 114^th Canton Fair held in November 2013, when declines under these two indicators showed, that the Canton Fair saw increases under the two indicators.

 

Xu said that, generally, the exhibitors believed that the overall conditions of the fair were better than expected. As the largest comprehensive fair with the longest history, the most variety of commodities, the most exhibitors, visitors and business dealers and the best transaction results, Canton Fair has had a history of 60 years. With these characteristics, it fully deserves the honors as the barometer and wind vane for foreign trade. The increases in the number of purchasers and volume of transactions for export indicated that the Chinese foreign trade companies have improved their comprehensive capacities through their own efforts and new driving force is forming up. A great number of products with proprietary intellectual property rights, high technologies such as the independent marketing network technology and high added value were frequently traded at the fair.

 

Compared with the previous sessions of the fair, the purchasers to this fair showed more intentions for procurement and less price sensitivity but more concern about the quality of the products and related services. The exhibitors are accelerating their transformation and upgrading and making great efforts to foster new advantages for competition in foreign trade and win the market through technology innovation, environmental protection and proprietary brands. The competitiveness and bargaining ability of a number of enterprises with strong research and development ability, proprietary brands and overseas marketing network have been significantly improved.

 

Xu Bing said that the function of the exhibition area for import in promoting imports has been continuously enhanced. Through 10 years’ development, this exhibition area has become more specialized. Relying on the platform, overseas exhibitor can find excellent Chinese that will help them successfully enter the Chinese market. Many products, including linden honey of DEMETRA, which is a Russian company, natural juice of PRAN, which is a Bangladeshi corporation, and more than 10 categories of food products from Malaysia and ROK, have been sold at many imported food supermarkets in Guangzhou.

 

However, in addition to the favorable trends, it should be aware of that the overall weak trend of international market demand has not changed. The fair reflects that the Chinese foreign trade still faces a lot of uncertainties, which should be treated seriously.

 

Source: Translated from Invest Guangzhou, May 6, 2016