THE country’s largest trade fair opened in the capital of Guangdong Province yesterday, at a time when domestic exporters face tougher times with an appreciating yuan and a possible U.S. recession.

A spokesman for the 103rd China Import and Export Fair, Xu Bing, said the fair would run until the end of this month. More than 18,700 businesses would attend the fair, some 3,660 more than the previous fair, he said.

The event, long known as the Canton Fair, would continue to introduce reforms but would remain a comprehensive fair, he said.

“We’ll expand in an appropriate way and advance the fair’s professional features while guaranteeing that the fair remains a comprehensive trading place,” said Xu.

The participants will include 514 foreign companies from 51 countries and regions, such as Malaysia, India, Turkey, Singapore, Italy, the United States and Thailand.

Xu said the organizers had also invited 366,000 overseas procurement experts, 46,000 more than the previous fair.

The Canton Fair was a biannual export-promotion until the 101st session, when the name was officially changed to the China Import and Export Fair from the Chinese Export Commodities Fair.

The fair has two phases, one from April 15 to 20 and the second from April 25 to 30.

The first phase will feature textiles, garments, health products, household appliances, tools, small vehicles and hardware.

Food, tea, kitchenware, decorations, toys, sporting goods and office supplies will be on show in the second phase. (Xinhua)