GUANGZHOU, China \u2014 The 113th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, saw an increase in international visitors during its most recent run, which ended May 5.<\/p>\n
Fair officials reported the event drew 200,000 overseas buyers, which was up 7% from attendance last fall but 3.8% down spring 2012. Asia represented the highest level of attendance from outside China with 110,000 buyers, or 54.3% of the total, followed by Europe with 36,453 buyers and North America with 31,709.<\/p>\n
Europe’s attendance was down about 6.2% but attendance from North America was up 11.4%. Compared with last spring, attendance from North America was down 7.8% and Europe was down by 4.9%.<\/p>\n
Officials also reported that written orders at the show rose 9% from last year to $35.5 billion.<\/p>\n
Officials attributed the orders increase to a slow global economy in 2012.<\/p>\n
“Last year was the most difficult year for Chinese exporters,” Liu Jianjun, a fair spokesman, said in a statement. “As China’s economy picks up, exporters commonly agree that the situation will be better in 2013 in terms of increased overseas orders.”<\/p>\n
The event was held April 15-May 5 at the China Import and Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou. The second phase of the event, held April 23-27, featured home furnishings and other consumer goods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GUANGZHOU, China \u2014 The 113th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, saw an increase in international visitors during its most recent run, which ended May 5.<\/p>\n