Second phase of 137th Canton Fair featuring over 10,000 exhibitors wraps up

The second phase of the 137th China Import and Export Fair, or Canton Fair, concluded on Sunday, featuring 24,735 exhibition booths and 10,313 participating exhibitors.

Focused on "quality home life," the five-day event showcased a wide range of products, including building and decorative materials, home decoration, and gifts, catering to the diverse needs of global buyers in search of refined offerings.

With a total exhibition area of 515,000 square meters, the number of exhibitors participated in the second phase of the 137th Canton Fair went up by 273 from the previous session.

More than 2,400 exhibitors in this phase are recognized as national-level high-tech enterprises, "little giants" enterprises, or national single champions of manufacturing industry, an increase of 100 companies compared with the same period last year.

Exhibitors have continually enhanced their manufacturing processes and innovative designs, strengthening both brand identity and product value, while actively expanding into international markets.

Pep Garcia, a Spanish exhibitor and CEO and founder of Maxchief Europe, a furniture manufacturer, said that each participation in the Canton Fair brings new opportunities and expressed his hope to further strengthen cooperation with Chinese companies.

"I've been attending the fair for many years and I'm excited to look for new items, new products, new designs. In China, the products are of very high quality. The design has improved a lot and we feel very comfortable working with products made in China. We are happy to strengthen our collaboration with Chinese suppliers," he said.

The third phase of the fair, scheduled for May 1 to 5, will focus on products that enhance quality of life, including toys, baby products, fashion, home textiles, stationery, as well as health and leisure items.

The 137th edition is being held in three phases from April 15 to May 5 in Guangzhou, the capital of south China's Guangdong Province.

Established in 1957, the Canton Fair is China's longest-running comprehensive international trade event and is widely regarded as a barometer of the country's foreign trade.

Second phase of 137th Canton Fair featuring over 10,000 exhibitors wraps up

Price hikes in Cambodia resulting from the global energy crisis have made local people's life more difficult.

Among Southeast Asian countries, Cambodia is the most severely affected by the fuel crisis triggered by the war in Iran.

It has neither domestic commercial oil production capability nor oil refinery, and even under normal conditions it has less than a month's supply of petrol, diesel, jet fuel, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

The vast majority of the country's tuk-tuks which run on LPG have faced soaring prices.

"The fares for the ride-hailing apps we work with don't increase. They don't adjust in line with the rising gas prices. It's very hard to make a living. Even affording three meals a day is difficult, it's sometimes not enough," said Nov Hout, an LPG tuk-tuk driver.

Hout said some drivers have already switched to electric vehicles to save LPG costs.

Meanwhile, the sharp rise in the LPG price has compelled many Cambodians to abandon modern cooking methods and revert to traditional practices.

"We have to use firewood for cooking for the time being. It's just not as convenient as cooking with gas, but we must save money because gas is so expensive," said Chea Yon, a resident on Cambodia's Silk Island.

Cambodia relies heavily on road transportation, and rising fuel costs are driving up the price of all sorts of goods.

Farmers are not only feeling the pinch of rising fertilizer costs, but also pressures from fuel costs.

"We need to use a machine to pump water for irrigation, which requires a lot of fuel. The other day when we dug up ginger, we didn't make a profit at all. In fact, we lost money because fuel prices are so high," said Ra Hong, a farmer in Phnom Penh.

Fuel price hikes in Cambodia make life harder for local people