After a disastrous turnout in spring, which was precipitated by the Sars crisis, hordes of buyers came flocking to the 94th Chinese Export Commodities Fair in Guangzhou last week.
The trade fair, held each April and October, attracts about 400,000 buyers from all over the world. Most were making up for lost time and were willing to pay extra in order to fill up their empty stock space.
'For sure, it's more successful than in April,' said Lui Wei, a manufacturer of Christmas ornaments. 'Things are selling about two per cent higher than normal.'
Harley Seyedin, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Guangdong, said: 'There's more activity than there has ever been. Many of these buyers didn't come in April. Their inventories are very low so they are filling up empty warehouses.'
According to Mr Seyedin, the trade fairs rake in about US$7.5 billion annually. 'I imagine this year it will be about US$10-US$12 billion by the end of this trade fair,' he said.
The trade fair consists of two parts. The first includes exhibits from heavy-industry manufacturers, such as metals, machinery, electronics and textiles.
The second half focuses on light-industry products, such as furniture, household goods, arts and crafts, office and outdoor products.