China’s biggest wine and spirits trade fair has announced that it will postpone its fair schedule from originally planned March to April, after the hosting province issued a directive to ban large-scale, sales-oriented gatherings as part of its precautionary measures following small clusters of infection.
The organizer announced the news on its official WeChat account today, as Chengdu, capital of Southwestern Sichuan province, reports 19 imported asymptomatic cases as of February 7.
The 104th edition China Food and Drinks Fair or commonly known as Chengdu Wine and Spirits Fair will be now held from April 7 to 9 instead of March 25-27. Venue still remains the same at Western China (Chengdu) International Expo City.
The news was largely expected, as Sichuan province on January 27 issued a directive banning people from joining or hosting large gatherings targeted at sales before March 31.
The 104 edition, according to the organizer, is slated to be the largest fair in scale yet, after cancelling 2020 edition due to the pandemic.
The organizer says this year’s fair will expand its exhibition space to over 215,000 square meters, the biggest floor plan yet since its inception in 1995.
The fair on average would welcome 150,000 trade visitors each year and generate around RMB 20 billion (US$3.17 billion) in sales. It is considered arguably the most important wine and spirits fair inside mainland China for its sheer visitor number and scale.
