Canton Fair, also known as China Import and Export Fair, is held biannually in Guangzhou, with a history of over 50 years since 1957. As China’s biggest and most prestigious foreign trade show, Canton Fair boasts of the broadest distributions of Chinese suppliers as well as global buyers. With two sessions held in spring and autumn every year, each session includes several phases, which cover different fields of products so that buyers can better arrange their visits to the show.
The 112th session of Canton Fair will be held from October 15 to November 1 in autumn 2012, composed by three phases as listed below:
Phase 1: Oct. 15 – 19, 2012 9:30 – 18:00
Major categories on show:
- Building Materials
- Chemical Products
- Hardware & Tools
- Electronics & Household
- Electrical Appliances
- Lighting Equipment
- International Pavilion
- Vehicles & Spare Parts
- Machinery
Phase 2: Oct. 23 – 27, 2012 9:30 – 18:00
Major categories on show:
- Consumer Goods
- Gifts
- Home Decorations
Phase 3: Oct. 31 – Nov. 4, 2012 9:30 – 18:00
Major categories on show:
- Medicines, Medical Devices and Health Products
- Food
- International Pavilion
- Textiles & Garments
- Shoes
- Office Supplies, Cases & Bags, and Recreation Products
Venue Address: No.380, Yuejiang Zhong Road, Guangzhou, China
Now the first phase of the 112th Canton Fair has ended. Based on the report, the number of buyers who had attended the super show fell off by 11.4%. Anyway, the emerging markets show a robust trend and the proportion of Middle Eastern buyers, Asian buyers and Latin American buyers increased. As far as I am concerned, the performance of 1st phase of the 2012 autumn canton fair indicates that the new markets are a great potential to the development of the future international trade business. At the same time, the fast progress the online foreign trade industry has been making is probably a can’t-be-ignored reason for which the total quantity of the buyers decreased so significantly.
Being China’s most comprehensive foreign trade show at the highest level, Canton Fair targets mainly big buyers who purchase by large bulk (generally 100 pieces or more for a single order). Such a traditional international trade model is seen a gradual decline in terms of attendance number as well as turnover.
Meanwhile, more and more buyers turn to online suppliers as they can procure products in much more flexible ways by doing so. Today China has many online stores that offer whole prices for small orders with MOQ low as 1 piece only, e.g. Lightinthebox.com, Aliexpress.com, etc. Besides, buyers can shop directly online without paying any visits to the trade shows or to the factories and are able to save the time and the cost. Just click on the mouse and the orders will arrive at the door!
