Economic woes dampen Canton Fair opening
Europe and US troubles are added to by the Sino-Japanese dispute over islands in the East China Sea, making for a gloomy opening-day outlook
It was a hot late-summer day in Guangzhou yesterday but some traders might have felt the chill from the global economy on the opening day of the Canton Fair.
Some domestic exporters are worried that a possible drop in the number of buyers this year will add to the difficulties in an already hard year, particularly as demand from Europe refuses to pick up.
Christine Lam, with a Huizhou-based manufacturer of kitchen sinks in Guangdong province, said she saw fewer buyers at the massive exhibition centre compared with previous fairs. She blamed it on the "sluggish overall economic situation".
"Maybe it's just the first day, but it's not a very good opening in any case," she said, "Our company is doing OK, but I know many companies in the industry have had to close down this year as the European market is really bad."
Lam's pessimism is shared by several frequent exhibitors at the fair, which has been seen as the unofficial barometer of the health of foreign trade throughout its 56-year history.
The gloomy economic environment prompted organisers to send out 17 per cent more invitations to overseas buyers this year, taking the total invited to 1.3 million, but that still hasn't helped.
Li Xiaozhong, sales and marketing manager of Vtrek, a Guangzhou-based company that produces mobile electronics, said: "We do feel the pinch as Europe and the United States are our major markets."