Canton Fair phase 2 opens: home goods and gifts

FRIDAY, 23 OCTOBER 2026

From 23 to 27 October in Guangzhou, more than 10,000 exhibitors of housewares, gifts, decorations and furniture, after a first phase with 189,000 overseas buyers. What to check before ordering.

Canton Fair phase 2 is open: from 23 to 27 October in Guangzhou, more than 10,000 companies are showing household items, gifts, decorations, building materials and furniture. It is the phase closest to buyers of promotional products, housewares and home accessories, and it follows a first phase that closed with 189,000 overseas buyers.

Canton Fair phase 2: what is on show

The second phase of the 140th session is themed "quality home living". The halls are split into three large areas: household items, gifts and decorations, building materials and furniture, for a total of 14 exhibition zones.

Next to the export section there is a small import section, with foreign companies exhibiting to sell into China. For buyers sourcing in Asia this is a side detail, but it signals that producers from countries other than China can also be met at the same venue.

The dates are tight for anyone deciding whether to travel: phase 2 closes on 27 October, and the fair then reopens from 31 October to 4 November with phase 3, covering toys, baby products, fashion, health and leisure.

The phase 2 figures

These are the figures released by the organisers at the opening and reported by the Guangzhou press:

• Phase 2 exhibition area: 515,000 square metres, from 23 to 27 October 2026
• Booths: more than 25,000, spread over 3 product areas and 14 exhibition zones
• Phase 2 exhibitors: more than 10,000 companies, over 3,600 of them classed as specialised firms or niche leaders
• Import section: 213 companies from 27 countries and regions
• Phase 1, closed on 19 October: 189,000 overseas buyers from 214 countries and regions

"Specialised firms" are companies that hold Chinese public designations as highly specialised niche businesses or single-product champions. It is an administrative label, not a quality certification of any individual item.

What the phase 1 figures say, and what they do not

The count of 189,000 phase 1 buyers is an attendance figure: it measures how many people entered the fair, not how many orders were signed or their value. So far the organisers have not released any figures on contracts.

Nor can it be compared directly with the pre-registrations announced in September, which referred to the whole session rather than a single phase. The figure does suggest that overseas attendance stayed high, and that the busiest phase 2 booths are likely to be slower to reply in the following weeks.

What it means for importers

For importers of housewares, giftware, gift items or custom promotional products, phase 2 is the largest showcase of the year together with the spring one. It is worth using it in a targeted way, even without being in Guangzhou.

First, catalogues collected at the fair should be treated as a starting point. A supplier with a booth is not necessarily a manufacturer: factories and trading companies share the same areas, and the difference affects price, lead times and the scope for customisation.

Then timing. Anyone ordering Christmas or promotional items for the end of the year these days is already too late for the 2026 season: with a few weeks of production and more than a month by sea, orders born in this phase are mainly useful for spring and for 2027 campaigns.

Finally, samples. For food-contact items such as mugs, plates and containers, it is worth asking from the first contact for the material tests required in Europe, because obtaining them after the order lengthens delivery times.

After 27 October

Buyers who are not at the fair can still work on phase 2: exhibitor lists remain available and many booths send updated catalogues in the following weeks. The useful step is to compare three or four suppliers for the same item, with prices on the same quantity, packaging and delivery terms.

With La Merce, buyers looking for housewares, gifts or promotional items among the more than 10,000 phase 2 exhibitors can reach the right supplier with verified samples and compared prices, before ordering for 2027 campaigns.

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