The 21st China Forest Products Trade Fair opened on Sept 19 in Zhuangzhai town, Heze, Shandong province. As the country's largest and most influential comprehensive trade fair for the forest products industry, this year's event attracted 657 exhibitors and over 70 foreign buyers from more than 10 countries.
The fair ran for three days, covering 30,000 square meters with both online and offline venues. Specially designed booths accounted for 81.6 percent of exhibitors, a record high, and total attendance exceeded 100,000.
What sets this fair apart is its "exhibition-production integration" model. Located at the heart of Zhuangzhai's wood-processing industrial park, the venue allows buyers to walk from exhibition halls directly into factories and negotiate orders on the spot. A buyer from Foshan, Guangdong, noted that the town offers a one-stop supply chain, from panels to hardware and edge banding.
Heze is now home to over 5,200 wood-processing enterprises with a total output value exceeding 130 billion yuan ($19.4 billion), exporting to more than 100 countries and regions.
The city's forest stock volume and timber processing volume have reached 28 million cubic meters and 31 million cu m, respectively, making it one of the largest forest product production and processing bases in China.
Based on the theme of digital and intelligent transformation, this year's event reflected the city's industrial shift — from selling raw materials and basic panels to offering smart, health-oriented and eco-friendly products.
Buyers and exhibitors negotiate at the 21st China Forest Products Trade Fair in Zhuangzhai town, Caoxian county, Heze, Shandong province, on Sept 19. [Photo/Heze Daily]
