The 136th session of the China Import and Export Fair Photo: VCG

Global exhibitors and buyers are hailing the role of the Canton Fair in boosting international trade, saying that the flagship event is irreplaceable and enables enterprises to meet global customers, while providing buyers with an efficient platform to purchase global products.

Just an hour after the opening of the 136th session of the China Import and Export Fair, commonly known as the Canton Fair, on Tuesday morning, many exhibitors were busy greeting buyers from all over the world.

"Some old customers have booked appointments to meet us at the fair to see our latest products, and we're expecting to meet new customers," Iris Lin, vice general manager of K&I International, a cookware manufacturer from Egypt, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Lin said that now, 70 percent of the company's products are sold in Egypt. The company aims to increase its sales proportion for Europe and other countries in Africa to 50 percent by attending the Canton Fair.

"The Canton Fair is an important platform where we can get direct feedback from global customers. We're trying to capture the eyes of more international customers at the fair," Abdul Lotief, trade manager at Walton, a Bangladesh-based manufacturer of home appliances, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Lotief said that Walton will attend the Canton Fair again next year as enterprises from all over the world come to the fair and set up booths to showcase their products. "We can directly observe industry trends and develop ourselves."

"We hope that by attending the Canton Fair, this being our third time, we can show our technology to customers at home and abroad. The fair enables us to have direct contact with global buyers," Zhang Qing, sales director of Bravo Kitchen, a US manufacturer of kitchen appliances, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Zhang noted that the effect of attending the Canton Fair is obvious. "After we participated in the Canton Fair two times, our brand awareness in the industry increased. Some deals were also reached at the fair."

It can be said that the Canton Fair is the largest trade exhibition in the world in terms of the number of exhibitors and the flow of buyers, which is irreplaceable, Zhang said, adding that the company will continue to attend the fair.

A buyer from Turkey visited the booth of Bravo Kitchen on Tuesday morning when the Canton Fair officially opened. "The Canton Fair gathers global leading makers of ovens, which I'm looking for. More than 10 Turkish brands are bringing their ovens and you can make comparisons directly," the Turkish buyer told the Global Times, adding that the visit to Bravo Kitchen's booth was not in his plan but worth it anyway. 

The buyer, who declined to be identified, noted that the Canton Fair is an efficient platform for buyers as they can see and compare products from all over the world in a single exhibition hall, which is hard to do at other trade fairs. 

"We are making efforts to increase the number of Turkish exhibitors attending the Canton Fair, as this is a big platform to showcase our latest products. For the first phase (October 15-19) of the 136th edition, we brought more than 30 enterprises," a staffer from the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

There will be more Turkish exhibitors in the next two phases (the second phase will be from October 23-27 and the third phase from October 31 to November 4), with a bigger area for the Turkish pavilion, the Global Times learned.