April 21-A year ago in Guangzhou, China, the exhibition halls hosting the annual Chinaplas exhibition had been darkened by the financial crisis. A number of regular exhibitors had withdrawn, attendance dropped 4% and the economic slowdown was on everyone s lips. This year, however, the exhibition has come back with a vengeance.
"At this fair we are seeing a very strong recovery from the 2008-09 crisis,"said Stanley Chu, chairman of Adsale Exhibition Services, the organiser of Chinaplas 2010.
The number of exhibitors at Chinaplas 2010, which is being held in Shanghai from 19-22 April, has swelled to 2,100, an 18% increase over 2009 and an 11% increase over 2008. Visitors to the exhibition are expected to number over 75,000, a jump from last year s 69,300.
According to Chu, who spoke at a news conference at the show, the healthy showing at this year's Chinaplas reflects the strong recovery in China's plastics market, which has benefited from government stimulus programs and a growth in domestic demand.
"China is now the number one producer of plastics machinery in the world, in terms of the number of machines in production," he said. "There are over 20,000 factories, making over 5 million yuan annually ($732,560), producing plastic products."
Even with all these companies, China saw a drop of 2.9% in industrial output for 2009. Exports dropped even more dramatically, to 3.9 billion yuan, a 34% decrease from 2008 levels. For China, however, there was a silver lining in the crisis.
"Even though exports dropped, sales stayed relatively flat," Chu said. "This shows the success of boosting domestic consumption."
Driven by programs that encourage consumers to buy automobiles and appliances, plus massive infrastructure projects across the country, China s domestic consumption helped dampen the impact of the crisis. Now, with exports coming back and domestic consumption still high, the China Plastic Machinery Association has reported quick growth for the first two months of 2010.
During January and February, industrial output for plastics machinery reached 4.7 billion yuan ($688 million), a 70% increase when compared with the same period last year. Export during this time reached 800 million RMB ($117 million), a 50% increase. Even considering that January and February 2009 are considered the lowest points of the crisis, the improvement is heartening for plastics manufacturers.
"For the first time for many years some of China's plastics factories are having difficulties meeting their orders," Chu said. "It will take some time to get back to pre-crisis levels, but we are optimistic despite the difficulties."
China will continue to support domestic demand, he said, and plastics manufactures will continue coming up with new applications and entering new markets. "And we will go back to breaking records again,"he said.
"At this fair we are seeing a very strong recovery from the 2008-09 crisis,"said Stanley Chu, chairman of Adsale Exhibition Services, the organiser of Chinaplas 2010.
The number of exhibitors at Chinaplas 2010, which is being held in Shanghai from 19-22 April, has swelled to 2,100, an 18% increase over 2009 and an 11% increase over 2008. Visitors to the exhibition are expected to number over 75,000, a jump from last year s 69,300.
According to Chu, who spoke at a news conference at the show, the healthy showing at this year's Chinaplas reflects the strong recovery in China's plastics market, which has benefited from government stimulus programs and a growth in domestic demand.
"China is now the number one producer of plastics machinery in the world, in terms of the number of machines in production," he said. "There are over 20,000 factories, making over 5 million yuan annually ($732,560), producing plastic products."
Even with all these companies, China saw a drop of 2.9% in industrial output for 2009. Exports dropped even more dramatically, to 3.9 billion yuan, a 34% decrease from 2008 levels. For China, however, there was a silver lining in the crisis.
"Even though exports dropped, sales stayed relatively flat," Chu said. "This shows the success of boosting domestic consumption."
Driven by programs that encourage consumers to buy automobiles and appliances, plus massive infrastructure projects across the country, China s domestic consumption helped dampen the impact of the crisis. Now, with exports coming back and domestic consumption still high, the China Plastic Machinery Association has reported quick growth for the first two months of 2010.
During January and February, industrial output for plastics machinery reached 4.7 billion yuan ($688 million), a 70% increase when compared with the same period last year. Export during this time reached 800 million RMB ($117 million), a 50% increase. Even considering that January and February 2009 are considered the lowest points of the crisis, the improvement is heartening for plastics manufacturers.
"For the first time for many years some of China's plastics factories are having difficulties meeting their orders," Chu said. "It will take some time to get back to pre-crisis levels, but we are optimistic despite the difficulties."
China will continue to support domestic demand, he said, and plastics manufactures will continue coming up with new applications and entering new markets. "And we will go back to breaking records again,"he said.
