Trade fair exhibitors adapt to change

Participants at the 23rd East China Fair in Shanghai on Friday. The event is considered a barometer of export business trends in China, and this year has attracted 3,607 exhibitors, taking 5,880 stands. Gao Erqiang / China Daily

Shanghai

Exhibitors at one of China's flagship foreign trade fairs say they are lowering their prices, investing in innovations and targeting customers in emerging markets and at home, as demand continues to dip in developed economies.

The 23rd East China Fair, which started on Friday in Shanghai, is considered a barometer of export business trends in the country, and has attracted 3,607 exhibitors, who have taken 5,880 stands.

Tao Libo, a homeware supplier from Nanjing, Jiangsu province, said the company has shifted its production from high-end luxury products to more affordable lines to win consumers around the world.

He described last year as its worst for exports since it started selling abroad in 2000, because many of its frequent buyers in Europe had not signed a single order.

"We are now using new materials to make our products lighter, more affordable and more durable," he said, and the innovations are expected to give the company double-digit growth in export revenue.

Cities across eastern China, one of its key export hubs, saw shrinking export business in 2012.

Statistics show that Shanghai's export business dropped 1.4 percent in value, while in Nanjing companies were even harder hit, with a drop of 3.6 percent.

Liu Xiaodi, a sales representative with Shanghai Longwang Trade Co Ltd, said the textile products company had been focusing on its domestic orders, as the debt crises in Europe had affected its business severely in 2012.

The shift back to the home front, he said, meant he was expecting overall growth in 2013, as the Chinese economy continues to warm.

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