Canton Fair exhibitors grumble as western buyers fail to turn up
Chloe Lai in Guangzhou 16 October 2008
It was only the first day, but this season’s Canton Fair did not appear to be pulling in enough buyers.
“The situation doesn’t look optimistic. My estimation is the organisers lost 70 per cent of the usual attendees,” said Joey Ye, a sales manager with an electronics manufacturer from Enping , Guangdong.
He blamed the financial crisis for keeping European and North American buyers from coming to the fair.
The fair, dubbed the biggest on the mainland, attracted nearly 22,000 mainland companies to take part, 20 per cent more than in April’s spring session, officials said.
The Ministry of Commerce, which organises the fair, sent invitations to about 850,000 overseas companies. But it would not reveal how many of those registered, nor how many turned up yesterday.
Mr Ye said: “I don’t expect any business from Europe and the US this year. Many of my clients have told me they will not come. I will have to rely on orders from other Asian countries and the Middle East.”
He complained that buyers were putting heavy pressure on prices. “Negotiation is particularly tough today.”
David Liu, chief operating officer of a software company in Beijing, said his company would have to diversify, turning attention from overseas to the domestic market.
Visiting the international pavilion, he hoped to find new information-technology products from overseas exhibitors seeking to sell on the mainland.
The pavilion, which made its first appearance at the fair two years ago, is aimed at cultivating domestic consumption.
Mr Liu said: “More than 90 per cent of our clients are from the US. They outsource their projects to us. Now we are losing that business, so we have to start thinking about the domestic market.”
Of the 424 exhibitors at the international pavilion, only four are from the US, down from 22 at last year’s fair, according to Guangzhou’s Nanfang Daily. It quoted an official in charge of recruiting US exhibitors saying the financial crisis meant most of the former participants were unable to attend this season.
Yaas Shayan from Los Angeles said the trading company she worked for wanted to move into the mainland market. The California-based wholesaler has half of its business in the US. “People are spending less, so we want to try in China,” she said.
On top of wholesale, the company plans to become a retailer on the mainland by opening 300 shops in the coming year.
The first of the fair’s three phases opened yesterday. Machinery, construction material and electronics are in this phase, which will close on Sunday. Furniture, toiletries and toys are in the second phase, and textile, clothes and accessories are in the last.
College student Li Xiaoqun was growing impatient waiting at the entrance to the fair with a cardboard sign reading “English interpreter”.
After standing for half a day, she still did not have any business.
“It is pretty bad. You can see nobody is coming. It must be because of the financial crisis, so no businessmen from the US are coming. It is why no one needs an English interpreter,” she said.
Ms Li was one of about 100 interpreters outside the convention centre hoping to earn 200 to 300 yuan (HK$227 to HK$340) by interpreting for foreign buyers for a day.
But she said her main goal was to practise English and accumulate contacts to pave the way for a full-time job as an interpreter after graduation next year.
“If I spoke another language, I think the situation must be better. The Spanish interpreters are charging 500 to 600 yuan a day,” she said.
But Yessica Wen, a Spanish interpreter, said business was also tough for her. The 22-year-old learned Spanish after spending five years in Panama. She said the daily rate for a Spanish interpreter during the spring session in April was about 700 yuan.
“I earned nearly 15,000 yuan in April by providing interpretation services to a Peruvian businessman for the entire fair period. It was tough because I had to follow him everywhere - the fair and factories.
“Now, I don’t even have a chance because so few people are coming this time. I will go home,” she said.
To increase her chances of getting business, Li Zuyi , who studied English, chose to stay away from the other interpreters.
Standing several hundred metres away, she said she was prepared to cut her price to 150 yuan a day.
“The problem is only a few people asked and none of them were prepared to pay this price,” she said.
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Canton Fair exhibitors grumble as western buyers fail to turn up
Chloe Lai in Guangzhou
16 October 2008
It was only the first day, but this season’s Canton Fair did not appear to be pulling in enough buyers.
“The situation doesn’t look optimistic. My estimation is the organisers lost 70 per cent of the usual attendees,” said Joey Ye, a sales manager with an electronics manufacturer from Enping , Guangdong.
He blamed the financial crisis for keeping European and North American buyers from coming to the fair.
The fair, dubbed the biggest on the mainland, attracted nearly 22,000 mainland companies to take part, 20 per cent more than in April’s spring session, officials said.
The Ministry of Commerce, which organises the fair, sent invitations to about 850,000 overseas companies. But it would not reveal how many of those registered, nor how many turned up yesterday.
Mr Ye said: “I don’t expect any business from Europe and the US this year. Many of my clients have told me they will not come. I will have to rely on orders from other Asian countries and the Middle East.”
He complained that buyers were putting heavy pressure on prices. “Negotiation is particularly tough today.”
David Liu, chief operating officer of a software company in Beijing, said his company would have to diversify, turning attention from overseas to the domestic market.
Visiting the international pavilion, he hoped to find new information-technology products from overseas exhibitors seeking to sell on the mainland.
The pavilion, which made its first appearance at the fair two years ago, is aimed at cultivating domestic consumption.
Mr Liu said: “More than 90 per cent of our clients are from the US. They outsource their projects to us. Now we are losing that business, so we have to start thinking about the domestic market.”
Of the 424 exhibitors at the international pavilion, only four are from the US, down from 22 at last year’s fair, according to Guangzhou’s Nanfang Daily. It quoted an official in charge of recruiting US exhibitors saying the financial crisis meant most of the former participants were unable to attend this season.
Yaas Shayan from Los Angeles said the trading company she worked for wanted to move into the mainland market. The California-based wholesaler has half of its business in the US. “People are spending less, so we want to try in China,” she said.
On top of wholesale, the company plans to become a retailer on the mainland by opening 300 shops in the coming year.
The first of the fair’s three phases opened yesterday. Machinery, construction material and electronics are in this phase, which will close on Sunday. Furniture, toiletries and toys are in the second phase, and textile, clothes and accessories are in the last.
Jobless interpreters left speechless
Chloe Lai
Updated on Oct 16, 2008
College student Li Xiaoqun was growing impatient waiting at the entrance to the fair with a cardboard sign reading “English interpreter”.
After standing for half a day, she still did not have any business.
“It is pretty bad. You can see nobody is coming. It must be because of the financial crisis, so no businessmen from the US are coming. It is why no one needs an English interpreter,” she said.
Ms Li was one of about 100 interpreters outside the convention centre hoping to earn 200 to 300 yuan (HK$227 to HK$340) by interpreting for foreign buyers for a day.
But she said her main goal was to practise English and accumulate contacts to pave the way for a full-time job as an interpreter after graduation next year.
“If I spoke another language, I think the situation must be better. The Spanish interpreters are charging 500 to 600 yuan a day,” she said.
But Yessica Wen, a Spanish interpreter, said business was also tough for her. The 22-year-old learned Spanish after spending five years in Panama. She said the daily rate for a Spanish interpreter during the spring session in April was about 700 yuan.
“I earned nearly 15,000 yuan in April by providing interpretation services to a Peruvian businessman for the entire fair period. It was tough because I had to follow him everywhere - the fair and factories.
“Now, I don’t even have a chance because so few people are coming this time. I will go home,” she said.
To increase her chances of getting business, Li Zuyi , who studied English, chose to stay away from the other interpreters.
Standing several hundred metres away, she said she was prepared to cut her price to 150 yuan a day.
“The problem is only a few people asked and none of them were prepared to pay this price,” she said.
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