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Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Weaker orders at Canton Fair signal China export boost may not be sustainable

Nov 4 (Reuters) - China's bellwether import-exporttrade fair showed a decline in orders year-on-year, indicatingthat strong external demand which helped buoy growth in thethird quarter may not be sustainable in the final three monthsof the year.



The China Import and Export Fair, popularly known as theCanton Fair, generated 179.2 billion yuan ($29.30 billion),organisers said in a statement on Tuesday, the final day of theevent that began on Oct. 15. That's 8.6 percent less than lastfall's fair after accounting for currency fluctuations.



The twice-yearly event is China's biggest trade exhibitionand is seen as a forward indicator of demand for the country'sexports.



The importance of the fair has declined as the world'ssecond-largest economy seeks to shift away from exports andmanufacturing toward consumption and services to find newdrivers of growth.



Despite the desire to pivot away from trade, analysts saidstrong export growth contributed significantly to China's 7.3percent growth in the third quarter from a year earlier, beatingexpectations of 7.2 percent.



September exports increased 15.3 percent year on year, farhigher than predictions of 11.8 percent growth.



Attendance at the fair declined by a slim 1.9 percent fromthe same period a year earlier with worries over the Ebola virusepidemic potentially leading some to stay home. State-run ChinaDaily quoted the fair's spokesman in mid-October saying Ebolaand domestic dengue fever epidemics would likely affectattendance and that Africans would not be barred from the event.



Medical workers at the fair held in Guangzhou, theprovincial capital of Guangdong province, donned full protectionsuits and checked visitors for signs of the Ebola virus that haskilled nearly 5,000 people, mostly in West Africa.



The majority of buyers came from Asia, with roughly 20percent coming from Europe and 14 percent from the Americas.African buyers made up only 8 percent of attendees.



($1 = 6.1150 Chinese yuan) (Reporting By Jake Spring; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)





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