GUANGZHOU: The mainland market will be prioritized in the years ahead by many Chinese exhibitors at the annual China Import and Export Fair due to shrinking global demand.

The fair is internationally known as the Canton Fair.

"There will be less demand in the international market, especially in the United States and Europe, as the global economy is shrinking," said Cai Anyang, a sales manager at the Chaozhou Qingfa Ceramic Co.

The Canton Fair, the largest trade fair of its kind on the mainland, is seeing a decrease in orders from international customers, and year-on-year turnover is expected to be halved. (China Daily / Zou Zhongpin)

A regular participant at the Canton Fair - the largest of its kind on the mainland - the Guangdong-based company has seen a decreasing number of orders from overseas buyers this year.

"In the past, we relied heavily on overseas orders at the fair. But now it has come to a crucial time for us to shift our focus to the domestic market in a bid to maintain growth," Cai said.

According to Cai, the turnover at the fair, an important barometer of the mainland's foreign trade, is expected to be cut by half due to the global crisis, the rising yuan and increasing costs in products and labor.

According to the fair's organizing committee, the first phase of the fair's autumn session this year saw a total trade volume of .45 billion, down by 10.8 percent year-on-year.

As of Saturday, there had been 125,669 foreign purchasers to the fair, and 68,526 were from Asia.

"Orders from the United States, for example, posted the biggest drop - about one third of last year's volume - to .63 billion," said Mu Xinhai, a spokesman of the fair's organizing committee.

In addition, buyers from Europe and the United States were only two thirds of the number at last year's fair, according to Mu.

"The continuous spread of the global financial crisis, a sharp decline in the consumer confidence index in developed countries and regions and falling export demands have had a negative impact on the country's export manufacturing industry," Mu said.

Along with the domestic market, mainland manufacturers are also eyeing foreign markets other than the United States and Europe - the mainland's largest trading partners.

"There may be promising demands in South America, the Middle East and Africa, which will help make up the loss of trade for us," said a manager of the Xiangtai Jida Industry and Trade Co.

Orders from Brazil, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and South America increased sharply during the first phase of the fair, according to its organizing committee.

Specifically, Brazilian buyers nearly doubled their orders of electrical and mechanical products, and ASEAN orders of electrical and mechanical products jumped 38.4 percent.

The second phase of the fair concludes today.

To stimulate exports, the State Council has recently raised the export rebate of labor-intensive products such as garments and textiles, as well as mechanical and electrical products with high added values.

Meanwhile, the foreign trade authority of Guangdong has introduced a series of measures to encourage manufacturers' shift to the domestic market.

According to the authority, manufacturers that have built their own brands in the domestic market and become big taxpayers will be awarded by the government.