On October 9, Guangzhou Customs held a press conference to officially release its facilitation measures for the 140th China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) in 2026, along with a customs clearance guide, providing full support for the upcoming event.
The 140th Canton Fair will be held in three phases in Guangzhou from October 15 to November 4. This session covers a total exhibition area of about 1.55 million square meters, with more than 75,000 booths and 32,000 participating enterprises. It also marks the 70th anniversary of the Canton Fair.
The 12 newly released measures cover efficient clearance for exhibits and personnel, on-site customs service at the venue, on-site inspection of imported exhibits at exhibition halls, support for imported food and cosmetics, tax incentives for exhibits purchased during the fair, an optimized departure tax refund verification model, a pilot reform of batch inspection and quarantine for exports, and support for agricultural and food exports.
Yu Lixin, Deputy Director of Guangzhou Customs, highlighted the new measure supporting on-site inspection of imported exhibits at venues. In the past, exhibits requiring inspection had to be checked at the port before being transported to the venue. Under the new arrangement, customs inspection is integrated into the delivery and booth installation process, improving both clearance and setup efficiency. Enterprises can save time as well as logistics and storage costs, while exhibits are unpacked only once, reducing the risk of damage—especially for high-value, precision and fragile products.
For agricultural exports, Yu said exporters or breeding and planting bases with prior recommendations from agricultural and rural affairs authorities will be exempt from on-site customs inspection when submitting overseas recommendation applications. Zeng Qi, Deputy Director of the Port Supervision Division, said customs will implement batch inspection and remote inspection for eligible agricultural and food exports to help distinctive Chinese products go global.
Zeng noted that since the 133rd Canton Fair, Guangzhou Customs has set up expedited clearance lanes for imported exhibits at major ports including Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Nansha Port, prioritizing inspection, document review, sampling and testing so that exhibits are inspected and released on arrival. On September 27, the first batch of imported exhibits—84 Turkish-made teapots, coffee machines and ceramic tableware weighing about 12.3 tons—cleared customs at Nansha Port, marking the start of the exhibition setup. As of October 9, ten batches of exhibits had entered through Nansha Port and Baiyun Airport, with more shipments expected in the coming days.
The clearance guide released on the same day covers eight areas, including fair registration, exhibit approval and access, import declaration, exhibit inspection and release, supervision during the fair, disposal of exhibits, supervision of personnel and personal belongings, and reporting equipment. During the fair, Guangzhou Customs will also provide on-site consultation through customs service desks and policy briefings, update policy interpretations on its website, and keep the 12360 customs hotline available to help enterprises secure orders and expand markets.