The four-day 2019 Guangdong-ASEAN Agricultural Trade Fair closed in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, on June 2, following the visits of more than 360,000 visitors, 23,000 professional audiences, and transactions worth 3.62 billion yuan ($524.17 million).

The Expo attracted a total of 1,272 enterprises from 35 countries and 29 domestic provinces, an increase of 19.7 percent over the previous year. Attendees included 382 exhibitors from foreign countries, 61 leading enterprises and listed companies. The Expo exhibited 6,598 new and excellent agricultural products, a year-on-year increase of 19.6 percent.

It also held two professional forums and 112 economic and trade activities, which together represented 3.62 billion yuan in transactions, including on-site sales of more than 96 million yuan, a total foreign trade of more than 54 million yuan, ASEAN exhibitors trading more than 36 million yuan, and e-commerce transactions over 61 million yuan.

This year, the Expo introduced an annual guest of honor segment, with Cambodia being the first. Totally, 382 foreign companies participated in the exhibition, including those from Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Israel, displaying agricultural and processed products with national characteristics.

Economic and trade groups came from 13 countries, along with more than 300 domestic bulk buyers and 23,000 professional visitors. Domestic professional audiences were made up of chain supermarkets, farmer's markets, e-commerce platforms, hotels, staff cafeterias, logistics and transportation, scientific research institutions, agricultural product processing enterprises and other industries.

The Guangdong-ASEAN Agricultural Trade Fair has become an international agricultural exhibition with growing influence in China and Southeast Asia. It has become the largest and highest-level professional exhibition in Guangdong and even in the country and ASEAN.

People buy agricultural products at the 2019 Guangdong-ASEAN Agricultural Trade Fair. [Photo by Liu Jicheng/zhanjiang.gov.cn]