Representatives from industries of the Brazilian states of Santa Catarina, Amazonas, Paraná, São Paulo and Pará left Brazil on Thursday for China, where they will attend the autumn edition of the Canton Fair until 20 October, according to the Federation of Industries of Santa Catarina.

The Spring edition of the fair, held in April, had 196,500 Chinese and foreign visitors from 200 countries and regions and 24,700 exhibitors and handled business in the amount of US$30 billion, according to the event’s organisers.

The statement from the Federation of Industries of Santa Catarina said that participation in the fair allows industrialists to prospect for business and partnerships, strengthening their network in China, increasing trade and monitoring trends.

The Brazilian group will also take part in a seminar to discuss business and investment opportunities between Brazil and China and visit telecommunications equipment company Huawei and the port of Shenzhen.

The mission is conducted in partnership with the Brazilian Network of International Business Centres (Rede CIN) of the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) and the Brazilian Agency for the Promotion of Exports and Investments (Apex-Brasil) in partnership with the China Trade Centre CTC).

The autumn edition of the Canton Fair this year will be held in three phases, the first from 15 to 19 October, the second from 23 to 27 October and the third from 31 October to 4 November.

The exhibition centre occupies an area of 1.1 million square metres with a covered area of 338,000 square metres and 43,600 square meters of outside space, and is the largest and most modern in Asia.