Overseas purchasing agents continue to pour into exhibition rooms of the 94th China ( Guangzhou) Export Commodities Fair, setting a record number of participants as the fair enters its fourth day.

The fair, the first of its kind in China since the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, had attracted 57,702 business people as of Friday, an increase of 13.83 percent over the same period last year, said an official with the organizing committee.

"This means the Guangzhou fair has recovered from the SARS outbreak earlier this year," said Hu Chusheng, the fair's secretary-general, adding a record number of participants and business deals were expected.

The last fair, which opened amid the SARS outbreak in April, was greeted by the withdrawal of international purchasing delegations.

Hu said the arrivals of participants over the past four days were 150 percent more than the number of domestic and overseas purchasers attending the 93rd Guangzhou fair.

The organizing committee's statistics show that most foreign purchasing agents were from Asian countries and regions, accounting for 66.15 percent of total arrivals.

Meanwhile, purchasing delegations from Europe and the Americas reappeared, with 7,844 European purchasers and 5,292 from the Americas registered as of Friday, an increase of 30 percent and 26. 6 percent year on year, respectively.

Business deals signed over the first two days had already reached 2.2 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 24.5 percent over the previous best 92nd fair last fall.

The 94th fair opened on Oct. 15 and will conclude on Oct. 30.

Held twice a year, in April and October, the Guangzhou Trade Fair is usually hailed as the weather wane of China's exports as it is China's largest commodities fair.

Guangdong was one of the areas worst-hit by SARS earlier this year and many business delegations quit the 93rd China Export Commodities Fair held in April when the SARS outbreak was at its peak in China.

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