Canton Fair sees small export rise amid Europe, US crises

GUANGZHOU, Nov 5 (Xinhua): The Canton Fair, China's largest trade fair, reported a small increase in export deals, despite lingering debt and financial crises in Europe and the United States. Export agreements worth 37.9 billion US dollars were signed at the 110th Canton Fair, up 3 per cent from the last session, which was held in the first half of the year, according to Liu Jianjun, the fair's spokesman. The fair received a record 209,175 buyers, up 1 per cent from the last session, Liu said. The fair saw strong demand for export orders from emerging economies, including Africa, Asia, Latin America and post-quake Japan, he said. But demand from China's two biggest importers, the Europe and the United States, slumped 19 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively, due to the debt crisis in Europe and a high jobless rate in the US. Liu said 88 per cent of the orders will be filled within the next six months, indicating that exporters are wary of making long-term deals. "This reflects caution in the international market, as traders did not dare to make long-term orders," said Liu. "Our exporters also did not wish to deal with long-term orders, as they are worried about fluctuations in materials costs and foreign exchange rates." The 110th Canton Fair, which opened on October 14 in south China's city of Guangzhou, concluded Friday.