Factories and traders mixed. The organizer publishes no factory-vs-trader split; in October 2025 it said only that 34% of exhibitors held national high-tech or similar manufacturing titles.
What the Canton Fair is, and who exhibits
The Canton Fair is China's state-hosted export trade fair, held every spring and autumn in Guangzhou since spring 1957. Its formal name is the China Import and Export Fair (中国进出口商品交易会). Until 2007 it was called the Chinese Export Commodities Fair, a name that described its original purpose: a single venue where foreign buyers could meet Chinese exporters. China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and the Guangdong Provincial People's Government co-host it, and the China Foreign Trade Centre organizes it, according to Wikipedia's account of the fair.
Exhibitors, the companies that rent booths to show products, are a mix of manufacturers and foreign-trade companies. A foreign-trade company (also called a trading company) buys from factories and resells for export, rather than producing goods itself. The organizer publishes no breakdown of the two. The nearest figure is in its pre-fair release for the 138th session (13 October 2025): more than 10,000 exhibitors, or 34% of exporters, held national titles such as high-tech enterprise, "specialized and sophisticated SME" or "manufacturing single champion." Those titles indicate a certified technology manufacturer. They describe a minority, and they say nothing about the other two-thirds.
The verdict for a buyer is therefore mixed. A Canton Fair booth is a sales presence, not proof of a factory. A buyer who meets a promising exhibitor still has to confirm who makes the product, by checking the business license and its registered business scope and by seeing the production site.
2026 dates and the three-phase structure
Each session splits its product groups across three phases, about a week apart. Going in the wrong phase is the most common planning error, because a buyer of toys will find none in Phase 1.
For the 140th session (autumn 2026), the Consulate-General of the PRC in Cebu published the following schedule on 14 July 2026 (Introduction of the 140th Canton Fair):
| Phase | Dates (2026) | Product groups |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 15–19 October | Electronics, appliances, machinery, vehicles and parts, lighting, hardware, tools, new energy |
| Phase 2 | 23–27 October | Ceramics, kitchenware, household items, gifts, home decor, building materials, furniture, bathroom |
| Phase 3 | 31 October–4 November | Toys, baby products, apparel, shoes, textiles, bags, home textiles, office supplies, food, medical and health, personal care, pet products |
The intervals fall on 20–22 October and 28–30 October. As of 30 October 2026 the 140th session is in its interval between Phase 2 and Phase 3, and no closing figures exist yet. The 140th session is also the fair's 70th anniversary.
The spring session follows the same pattern. The 139th session ran from 15 April to 5 May 2026 in three phases; its Phase 1 ended on 19 April. The dates of its later phases, and of Phase 2 of the 138th session in October 2025, were not confirmed in an organizer source read for this page.
How buying at the fair works
Overseas buyers pre-register online before the fair. The organizer counts "pre-registered" buyers in its releases; the 139th release reported over 210,000 overseas buyers pre-registered as of 9 April 2026. The exact badge, invitation and fee rules were not confirmed in an organizer document, and the fair's own site (cantonfair.org.cn) could not be read for this page, so a buyer should check them on that site before travel.
At the fair, buyers walk the halls of the relevant phase, collect catalogs and quotations, and shortlist exhibitors. A booth conversation starts the process rather than ending it. What follows is the work that protects a deposit: samples, a written specification, a check of the company's registration, and a factory visit or audit.
Read the fair's headline trade figure with care. The organizer reports "intended export transactions" or "intended orders": on-site intentions it collects from exhibitors, not completed or audited trade. They are useful as a trend indicator between sessions and not as a measure of sales.
Scale, from organizer releases
All figures below are organizer-reported. They come from Canton Fair releases issued through PR Newswire and from Guangzhou government pages, because the fair's own site blocks automated retrieval.
| Measure | 138th (autumn 2025) | 139th (spring 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | 15 Oct–4 Nov 2025 | 15 Apr–5 May 2026 |
| Participating enterprises | More than 32,000 | More than 32,000 (about 3,900 first-time) |
| Booths | 74,600 | 75,700 |
| Exhibition area | 1.55 million m² | 1.55 million m² |
| Overseas buyers | More than 310,000 from 223 countries and regions (+7.5%) | 314,000 from 220 countries and regions (+1.1%) |
| On-site intended exports | US$25.65 billion | US$25.7 billion |
The Guangzhou municipal government's page on the close of the 139th session confirms 314,000 overseas buyers from 220 countries and regions, 75,700 booths and more than 32,000 companies; the buyer figure is as of 4 May 2026 (Guangzhou International, 9 May 2026). The 139th session also counted 407 top global retail buyers and 154 overseas business organizations, and added 9 new zones, among them smart wearables and display technology.
US attendance has held up through the tariff period. Global Times, via People's Daily on 5 November 2025, reported organizer statistics showing US buyers up 14% at the 138th session compared with the session before; EU buyers rose 32.7%. No absolute count of US buyers has been published for any session.
Where the figures conflict
The organizer's own numbers move between announcements, and buyers who quote them should cite the release and its date.
- Booths and companies, 139th session. A Guangzhou government page published before the opening gave 75,500 booths and more than 30,000 companies. The organizer's final release and the Guangzhou closing page give 75,700 booths and more than 32,000 companies.
- Exhibitor count, 140th session. The Cebu consulate page of July 2026 says "over 30,000 enterprises are expected," including about 2,800 brand exhibitors. The two previous sessions each reported more than 32,000. The lower figure is a pre-fair expectation; the final count has not been published.
Risks and common mistakes
- Assuming every booth is a factory. No official split exists. Ask for the business license, compare its business scope with the product, and see the production site.
- Going in the wrong phase. Product groups are fixed to a phase; check the current phase list before booking travel.
- Treating intended turnover as sales. It is an organizer estimate of on-site intentions.
- Relying on booth counts from secondary sources. Pre-fair and closing figures differ; cite the organizer release and date.
- Treating a booth as a credential. Exhibiting shows that a company paid for and was allocated space. It does not show product compliance with US rules, quality control or IP ownership.
Who the Canton Fair suits, and how it compares
The fair suits a buyer who already knows the product category and wants to meet many Chinese exporters in that category within a few days, compare samples side by side, and build a shortlist for verification. It is less useful to a buyer who does not yet know which phase, and therefore which week, carries the product. It does not replace verification: a booth meeting is the start of due diligence, not the end.
In October, the fair overlaps with the two main Hong Kong fair programs: the HKTDC fairs at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, run by a statutory trade-promotion body, and the Global Sources shows at AsiaWorld-Expo, run by a private company. The Canton Fair differs from both in being hosted by MOFCOM and the Guangdong government on the Mainland, and in its scale. Online marketplaces such as Alibaba.com give year-round access to many of the same exporters, but without the chance to handle samples and meet sales staff in person.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Canton Fair 2026?
The spring 139th session ran from 15 April to 5 May 2026. The autumn 140th session runs in three phases: 15–19 October, 23–27 October and 31 October–4 November 2026, according to the Chinese consulate in Cebu (July 2026). Each phase covers different product groups, so a buyer should check which phase carries the category before booking travel.
Are Canton Fair exhibitors factories or trading companies?
Both, and the organizer publishes no breakdown. Its October 2025 pre-fair release said only that more than 10,000 exhibitors, 34% of exporters, held national high-tech or similar manufacturing titles. A buyer should treat each booth as a sales contact and confirm the producer through the business license, its business scope and a visit to the factory.
How many buyers attend the Canton Fair?
The 139th session in spring 2026 reported 314,000 overseas buyers from 220 countries and regions, a record. The 138th session in autumn 2025 reported more than 310,000 from 223 countries and regions. These are organizer figures, confirmed for the 139th by the Guangzhou municipal government's closing page. Closing figures for the 140th session have not been published as of 30 October 2026.
Do US buyers still go to the Canton Fair?
Yes. Organizer statistics reported by Global Times via People's Daily in November 2025 showed US buyer attendance up 14% at the 138th session compared with the previous session, despite US tariff actions. No absolute number of US buyers has been published for any session, so the size of the US contingent is unknown.
What is sold in each phase of the Canton Fair?
For the 140th session, Phase 1 covers electronics, appliances, machinery, vehicles and parts, lighting, hardware, tools and new energy. Phase 2 covers ceramics, kitchenware, household items, gifts, home decor, building materials, furniture and bathroom products. Phase 3 covers toys, baby products, apparel, shoes, textiles, bags, office supplies, food, medical and health, personal care and pet products.
What does "intended export transactions" mean in Canton Fair results?
It is the organizer's tally of on-site purchase intentions, not completed or audited trade. The 139th session reported US$25.7 billion in intended orders and the 138th US$25.65 billion. The figure is useful for comparing sessions, but it does not measure sales, since many intentions never become contracts.
When was the Canton Fair founded?
In spring 1957, in Guangzhou. It was called the Chinese Export Commodities Fair until 2007, when it was renamed the China Import and Export Fair. It is co-hosted by China's Ministry of Commerce and the Guangdong Provincial People's Government and organized by the China Foreign Trade Centre. The autumn 2026 session marks its 70th anniversary.
Sources
- Guangzhou Municipal People's Government (gz.gov.cn) — Guangzhou International – Canton Fair news page (139th Canton Fair concludes)
- Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China in Cebu — Introduction of the 140th Canton Fair
- prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-139th-canton-fair-concluded-unleashing-fres…
- finance.yahoo.com/news/138th-canton-fair-set-open-063900833.html
- finance.yahoo.com/news/138th-canton-fair-concludes-successfully-104900766.html
- en.people.cn/n3/2025/1105/c90000-20386593.html
- aap.com.au/aapreleases/cision20260414ae33576/
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton_Fair