22. CANTON FAIR 2026: The World’s Largest and Oldest Trade Fair

Established in 1957, the China Import and Export Fair, universally known as the Canton Fair, stands as the world’s largest, oldest, and most comprehensive trade exhibition. The 139th edition Spring 2026 session, scheduled across three phases from April 15 to May 5, 2026 at the China Import and Export Fair Complex in Guangzhou, continues this nearly 70-year tradition as China’s premier gateway to global trade, attracting over 200,000 international buyers from 200+ countries and hosting 60,000+ exhibition booths across the massive 1.1 million square meter venue.

Exhibition Overview

The Canton Fair represents an unparalleled concentration of Chinese manufacturing capability and export capacity. Co-hosted by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China and the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, organized by the China Foreign Trade Centre, the fair functions as the official national platform showcasing China’s industrial output to global markets. The biannual format (Spring and Autumn sessions) creates two annual opportunities for international buyers to source across virtually every product category produced in China, from industrial machinery through consumer electronics to textiles and furniture. The three-phase structure enables focused sourcing by product category while the sheer scale 338,000 square meters of indoor space plus 43,600 square meters outdoor creates comprehensive marketplace impossible to replicate elsewhere.

Three-Phase Structure and Strategic Focus

The Canton Fair’s three-phase organization enables buyers to focus visits on relevant product categories rather than navigating overwhelming comprehensive exhibition:

Phase 1 (April 15-19, 2026): Electronics, Industrial & Machinery

• Household electrical appliances and consumer electronics
• Information products and electronic equipment
• Electrical products and lighting equipment
• New energy resources and materials
• Chemical products and hardware
• Tools and machinery
• Power and electrical equipment
• General machinery and mechanical parts
• Industrial automation and intelligent manufacturing
• Construction machinery and agricultural machinery
• New energy vehicles and smart mobility
• Motorcycles, bicycles, vehicle spare parts

This phase attracts buyers seeking industrial equipment, electronic products, machinery, construction materials, and technology-driven products.

Phase 2 (April 23-27, 2026): Consumer Goods, Home & Furniture (Primary Furniture Focus)

• Furniture (residential, office, hotel, outdoor)
• Building and decoration materials
• Sanitary and bathroom equipment
• Kitchen and tableware
• Daily-use ceramics
• Household items
• Clocks, watches, and optical instruments
• Gifts and premiums
• Festival products
• Home decorations
• Art ceramics

Phase 2 represents the essential focus for furniture industry participants, concentrating comprehensive furniture categories alongside complementary building materials, home décor, and houseware. This phase attracts furniture retailers, interior designers, architects, hospitality buyers, and wholesalers seeking residential and commercial furniture solutions.

Phase 3 (May 1-5, 2026): Textiles, Apparel, Healthcare & Consumer Products

• Men’s and women’s clothing
• Underwear, sports and casual wear
• Furs, leather, and down products
• Fashion accessories and fittings
• Textile raw materials and fabrics
• Shoes, cases, and bags
• Home textiles, carpets, and tapestries
• Medicines and health products
• Medical devices
• Food products
• Sports, travel, and recreation products
• Personal care products and toiletries
• Pet products and food
• Office supplies
• Toys and children’s products
• Baby and maternity products

Furniture at Canton Fair Phase 2

Phase 2’s furniture section encompasses comprehensive categories addressing all market segments:

Residential Furniture: Living room furniture including sofas, sectionals, coffee tables, TV stands; bedroom furniture featuring beds, mattresses, wardrobes, dressers, nightstands; dining furniture with tables, chairs, buffets; children’s and custom furniture including modular and space-saving solutions.

Office Furniture: Office seating systems, desks and workstations, bookcases and storage cabinets, partitions and space dividers, ergonomic office accessories, executive furniture collections.

Hotel and Hospitality Furniture: Hotel suite furniture, banquet and restaurant furniture, mattresses and bedding, lounge seating, bar tables and chairs, outdoor patio furniture.

Commercial and Public Space Furniture: Airport seating, theater furniture, school and laboratory furniture, medical and institutional furniture, waiting room seating.

Outdoor and Garden Furniture: Patio furniture and dining sets, sunshades and umbrellas, lounge chairs and daybeds, BBQ supplies and outdoor cooking, tents and pavilions, gardening tools and accessories.

Home Decor and Soft Furnishings: Lighting fixtures and decorative lighting, paintings and wall art, ceramics and decorative objects, photo frames and clocks, artificial flowers and plants, home decorative fabrics, bedding and textiles, craft textiles and carpets.

Chinese Furniture Manufacturing Advantages

The Canton Fair showcases China’s dominant position as the world’s largest furniture manufacturer and exporter, offering buyers multiple strategic advantages:

Unmatched Production Capacity: Chinese furniture manufacturers maintain production scales impossible in other countries, enabling large-volume orders, shorter lead times, and economies of scale translating to competitive pricing.

Comprehensive Supply Chain Integration: Guangdong Province (where Canton Fair is located) and nearby regions contain complete furniture supply chains including raw materials, components, hardware, textiles, foam, and finishing materials within concentrated geographic areas, creating efficiency advantages.

Product Diversity: Chinese manufacturers produce furniture across all quality tiers from budget to premium, traditional to contemporary, and standard to custom, enabling buyers to source complete product portfolios from single geographic region.

Manufacturing Flexibility: Chinese factories typically accept customization, private labeling, OEM/ODM arrangements, and design modifications more readily than manufacturers in other countries, providing flexibility for retailers requiring brand-specific products.

Competitive Pricing: Labor costs, production efficiency, and supply chain integration create price advantages enabling retailers to achieve margins impossible with Western-manufactured furniture.

Technological Integration: Leading Chinese furniture manufacturers increasingly incorporate smart home integration, sustainable materials, innovative production technologies, and contemporary design sophistication challenging stereotypes about Chinese furniture quality.

Visitor Profile and Global Reach

The Canton Fair’s 200,000+ visitors from 200+ countries represent the world’s most comprehensive concentration of international buyers:

Professional Buyer Segments: Furniture retailers and importers, department store buyers, e-commerce sellers, wholesalers and distributors, interior designers and architects, hotel and hospitality procurement, contract and project buyers, real estate developers, government and institutional buyers.

Geographic Distribution: Strong representation from Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Europe, North America, Latin America, and emerging markets, reflecting China’s role as global manufacturing hub serving all continents.

Company Profiles: Established importers with existing Chinese supplier relationships, first-time importers exploring Chinese sourcing, startup retailers and e-commerce businesses seeking competitive products, multinational corporations pursuing cost optimization, and regional distributors establishing import channels.

Strategic Sourcing Advantages

The Canton Fair delivers multiple strategic sourcing advantages impossible through other channels:

Concentrated Supplier Access: Meeting dozens or hundreds of potential suppliers during single week-long trip, dramatically more efficient than individual factory visits across China requiring weeks or months.

Competitive Benchmarking: Direct comparison of quality, pricing, capabilities, and terms across multiple manufacturers enables informed sourcing decisions rather than limited sampling.

Negotiation Leverage: Concentrated supplier competition during fair creates enhanced negotiation leverage as manufacturers compete for orders.

Market Intelligence: Exposure to complete market offerings provides intelligence about emerging products, design trends, manufacturing capabilities, and competitive pricing informing strategic planning.

Relationship Development: Face-to-face interactions during fair enable relationship building and trust development essential in Chinese business culture, supporting long-term supplier partnerships.

Quality Assessment: Direct product inspection, sample evaluation, and factory capability assessment during fair enable quality verification before committing to orders.

Why Attend Canton Fair 2026?

• World’s Largest Trade Fair: Unmatched scale with 60,000+ booths, 200,000+ buyers, and comprehensive Chinese manufacturing representation.
• Comprehensive Furniture Access: Phase 2 concentrates complete furniture categories from residential through commercial applications.
• Competitive Sourcing: Direct manufacturer access enabling competitive pricing impossible through intermediaries.
• Supply Chain Efficiency: Guangdong proximity to furniture manufacturing clusters enables factory visits and supply chain evaluation.
• Market Intelligence: Comprehensive market exposure providing trend insights, competitive intelligence, and strategic planning information.
• Established Platform: Nearly 70-year history creating trusted, professional environment supported by Chinese government.
• One-Stop Sourcing: Furniture alongside complementary building materials, home décor, and accessories enabling comprehensive sourcing.
• Global Networking: International buyer concentration creating business relationships beyond supplier sourcing.

Conclusion

The Canton Fair represents the essential platform for accessing Chinese furniture manufacturing capacity and the broader Chinese export economy. Phase 2’s focused furniture and home products concentration creates efficient sourcing opportunity for retailers, importers, designers, and buyers seeking competitive Chinese-manufactured furniture across all categories and price points. The fair’s scale, governmental support, comprehensive services, and nearly seven decades of operation create unparalleled credibility and effectiveness for China-sourcing strategies. For furniture businesses, Canton Fair Phase 2 (April 23-27, 2026) delivers concentrated access to thousands of Chinese furniture manufacturers, complete product category coverage from budget to premium, competitive pricing enabling retail margin optimization, customization and private label capabilities, and market intelligence informing strategic decisions. Whether you’re establishing initial Chinese sourcing relationships, expanding existing supplier networks, exploring new product categories, or conducting competitive market research, April 23-27, 2026, in Guangzhou delivers access to the world’s largest furniture manufacturing economy concentrated in the planet’s most comprehensive trade exhibition.

For registration details and additional information, visit the official Canton Fair website: www.cantonfair.org.cn/en-US