Sourcing Fairs in China - Be prepared

The China Import and Export Fair, popularly known as the Canton fair is one of the largest trade fairs in China. A huge number of individuals and businesses from around the world visit the Canton fair each year. It is held during the months of April and May every single year. The People's Government of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Commerce of China together host the Canton fair. The Canton fair was earlier known as the Chinese Export Commodities Fair.

You can either buy products directly from the Canton fair or otherwise visit the factories where these products are manufactured and buy from there later. Both approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages. Let us first explore the option of buying in the Canton fair instead of from factories. As you might know, there are thousands of companies that exhibit their products in the Canton fair. While most of these are reputed companies, there are also a large number of new companies that enter the Canton fair each year. The fair organizers cannot monitor each and every company that participates in the Canton fair. You as the purchaser have to be careful while purchasing your products. You may not be able to trace the seller at a later date, if the product proves to be defective. Therefore, you need to buy from reputed companies that have been participating in the Canton fair for a long period.

The advantage of buying your products directly from the Canton fair is that you have all the products available under a single roof. That is probably the main attraction of the Canton fair in the first place. Locating and visiting factories one by one would be extremely difficult and time consuming. On the other hand, you can see all the companies at one location at the Canton fair. For a person new to China, finding their way around to visit factories would also be quite difficult.

Moreover, factories are not authorized to sell all the products that they manufacture. If the factories are manufacturing their own products, they can sell them. But if the factories are manufacturing for some other company, they may not have the rights to sell those products. You need to be aware of this fact. So it is always necessary to find which factories make their own products. Since factories cannot sell products they manufacture for other companies, you need to buy only those products when they belong to the factories that make them.

The Shanghai premiums and gifts fair is normally conducted in the month of January. This year it the Shanghai premiums and gifts fair was conducted from January 12 to January 14, 2010. The next year also, the Shanghai premiums and gifts fair will be conducted from January 12 to January 14, 2011. The venue for the Shanghai premiums and gifts fair will be conducted Shanghai New International Expo Centre in Shanghai, China. The Shanghai premiums and gifts fair is one of the most popular trade fairs in China for people across the globe looking to source high quality products from China.

Since the Shanghai premiums and gifts fair attracts a large number of visitors every year, if you are planning to attend the fair, you need to book your tickets well in advance. During the Shanghai premiums and gifts fair, most of the hotels get booked for a number of days ahead of the fair. So you need to plan well ahead of time and book your tickets probably months in advance. There would also be a lot of people traveling to the Shanghai premiums and gifts fair, and so you need to book your air tickets before hand as well. Booking your travel and accommodation well in advance for the Shanghai premiums and gifts fair is essential to avoid disappointment.

The Shanghai New International Expo Centre where the Shanghai premiums and gifts fair will be held next January is just 7 minutes away from the Shanghai Pudong International Airport when you take the maglev train. Products in the Shanghai premiums and gifts fair are also exhibited on the ground floor halls for easy accessibility. This would enable you to easily search for products at the Shanghai premiums and gifts fair. To make your sourcing visit to China truly successful, you really need to visit the Shanghai premiums and gifts fair.

It is good to go well-prepared to the Shanghai premiums and gifts fair. Since you would get a chance to meet thousands of business contacts at the Shanghai premiums and gifts fair, carry a lot of business cards with you. Take adequate copies of literature about your company with you to the Shanghai premiums and gifts fair. Wear comfortable but warm clothing to the Shanghai premiums and gifts fair so that your visit is fruitful. You can even make your visit to the Shanghai premiums and gifts fair a regular annual trip to China.

There are a number of fairs for premium and gifts products in China. The AsiaWorld-Expo for instance which is held from April 20 to April 23, 2010 and again from October 20 to October 23, 2010 in Hong Kong, is one of the best fairs for premium and gifts products in China. In these fairs in China held for premium and gifts products, you can find a number of Chinese manufacturers and suppliers from whom you can source high quality and low priced premium and gifts products. In China, these fairs are held on a regular basis.

Another one of the famous fairs for premium and gifts products in China is the 107th China Import and Export Fair also popularly known as the Canton Fair. This year, the Canton fairs for premium and gifts products in China will be held in three phases. Phase 1 will be held from April 15 to April19, 2010 from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm.

Phase 2 of the Canton fairs for premium and gifts products in China will be held from April 23 to April 27, 2010 from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm. And Phase 3 of the Canton fairs for premium and gifts products in China will be held from May 1 to May 5, 2010 from 9:30 am to 6:00 pm. For all these three phases of the Canton fairs for premium and gifts products in China, the venue will be the Pazhou Complex at 380 Yuejiang Middle Road, Haizhu, Guangzhou, China.

The China International Gold Jewelry and Gem Fair is also among the famous fairs for premium and gifts products in China. These fairs for premium and gifts products are held during the first quarter of every year in China. Last year, these fairs for premium and gifts products in China attracted around 350 suppliers of of jewelry from 12 different nations around the world. These fairs for premium and gifts products in China are the best places to source fine jewelry, pearls, diamonds, gemstones and even timepieces made of jewelry.

These fairs for premium and gifts products in China are also famous for fashion jewelry items and accessories like watches, handbags, ornaments, belts and various other items. These fairs for premium and gifts products in China are held between 25 Feb and 28 Feb 2010 at the Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center, in Shenzhen, China and attended by a huge number of visitors from around the world.

One of the best ways to be prepared for the next Chinese Canton fair is to have the right information beforehand. You first need to acquaint yourself with the events of the Canton fair. The Canton fair has become one of the most comprehensive trade fair events in China. It was started in 1957 and has progressively increased in size and patronage. The Canton fair has moved recently to a much larger venue at the Pazhou Complex. This location would be able to easily accommodate its future expansion. The fair is held in the ‘flower city’ of China, Guanzhou twice a year. It is one of the largest trade fairs with almost 20,000 booths featured in the shows. The Canton fair generates a massive business turnover from nearly 200,000 companies attending the fair. The Canton fair is being planned for three phases instead of the traditional two. The phases would be classified according to different segments of industry and companies in the appropriate industry would feature in the appropriate phase of the Canton fair. Each phase of the Canton fair would last for a duration of five days. Normally the dates range from the 15th of October to the 6th of November every year.

The Canton fair is expanding every single year in order to cater to the needs of the industry. The Canton fair organizers are doing everything possible to facilitate the exhibition of products and services of companies from China as well as from abroad. The number of companies setting up exhibits as well as the number of visitors to the Canton fair keeps increasing every year. It is extremely important to make preparations well ahead of time in order to capitalize on this massive business opportunity. Whether you are a company that wants to sell products in China and one that would like to procure products from China to distribute to other regions in the world, the Canton fair presents a unique opportunity to expand your business at an incredible rate.

Since there is a lot of inbound traffic from various parts of the world into China for the Canton fair, you need to book your tickets well in advance to avoid the last minute rush. Book your air tickets and well as your accommodation ahead of time to save money and piece of mind. Have a clear cut goal when planning your trip to the Canton fair and you can truly benefit from the immense business opportunities that the Canton fair presents to businesses as well as visitors to the show.

The business arena is a huge place to make profits from. One of the most important things you need to do is identify a good niche to market to. The narrower the niche, the less competition you would face. Most newcomers to business do not take the time to understand what exactly their own needs are. A lack of focus makes their efforts diluted and ineffective. A company that is more focused towards a specific goal has a much greater chance of success in any market. So the first thing you need to do is understand what your needs are, what goals you want to achieve and what specific niche that you want to market to.

Once you understand your own needs, then it is easier to identify sources that you need to get in touch with, that can help you achieve your targets. One of the best ways to identify sources in China is through Chinese trade fairs. Some of these Chinese trade fairs are huge events specifically targeted at attracting businesses from all over the world to invest in the Chinese market. Since most of these Chinese trade fairs are so huge, it is easy to lose focus and get lost unless you have a clear picture of what you are looking for. That is why it is so important to have a clear understanding about your own needs and the goals that you have set for yourself before you visit these Chinese trade fairs. Without a clear cut goal, you would find it very difficult to identify what you want when you visit these Chinese trade fairs.

Every single years, literally hundreds of Chinese trade fairs are being held all over China. The U.S. Department of Commerce located in China supports and endorses some of these fairs for its US citizens. A list of Chinese trade fairs supported by the U.S. Department of Commerce can be found at the following website:

http://www.buyusa.gov/china/en/tradeshows.html

The U.S. Department of Commerce also has U.S. Pavilions at many Chinese trade fairs. These provide a great opportunity for US businesses to showcase the products / services of their companies to the Chinese market. Chinese trade fairs are also a wonderful way to learn more about the business environment in China and to establish contacts in the region for future business expansion. The U.S. Department of Commerce also has their staffs present in these Chinese trade fairs that would help US businesses communicate with the organizers of the trade fairs to make arrangements to exhibit their companies’ products.

Some of the websites that provide information on Chinese trade fairs are listed below:
http://www.cantonfair.org.cn/
http://www.tdctrade.com/
http://www.asiatravel.com/china/guangzhou/guangzhoutradefair/fair-hotel.html http://www.chinatradeshows.com/ http://www.chinafair.org.cn/chinafair2002/website/English/index/index.aspx
http://www.eventseye.com/fairs/trade_fair_event_569.html
http://www.chinapages.com/guangdong/guangzhou/gz_gjh.htm
http://www.globalsources.com/TRADESHW/CHINA-ELECTRONICS.HTM
http://www.ChinaSourcingFair.com
http://www.expo99km.gov.cn/sbh/english/html/demoa.htm
http://www.cpexhibition.com
http://www.expoces.com
http://www.china-business-travel.com/business/Exhibition-Promotion.html

A trade fair in China provides a great occasion for you to witness in person the kind of business opportunities available for you in China. But for your visit to be productive, you need to be well prepared even before your departure. After all, you are going to spend a lot of money visiting the country. If you take adequate steps to clearly specify the objectives of the visit and have a clear itinerary, then your efforts would pay rich dividends.

Have a list of products that you are interested in and the number of units you would like to purchase in the fair in China. Have a comparative price chart that shows the local price back in your home town if the product is available in your country. Learn about possible restrictions to import to your own country, the products that you might be interested in procuring from the fair in China. Have a good idea about the size of the fair in China, the number of companies participating and the amount of time you would need to adequately visit all the booths that you are interested in. You should not be left with too little or too much time on your hands when you finally visit the fair in China.

Prioritize the booths that you want to visit. Do not visit the booths in the order they are spread across the fair in China. Instead visit only the booths that you have short listed first and then if you have time, visit other booths that might interest you. Try to get a floor map of the entire fair in China so that you do not lose bearing. It can sometimes be disorienting when you have visit a few booths. You might sometimes feel like you are inside a maze. Having a map of the fair in China and planning in advance would help keep you on track.

Familiarize yourself with the fairs timings and the list of important events scheduled during the fair. Schedule your appointments and meetings with business contacts in China based on the intervals you might get between these timings. Register well in advance for the fair in China. Most of them offer online registration. This can save you a lot of time and hassles.

Take a large number of business cards with you to distribute in the fair in China. You might never know where these contacts would lead you to. If you have literature about your company or products, take them also with you. If possible, print them as bilingual cards to impress your prospective business contacts in China.