SIAL Guangzhou 2027

How it compares

Food2China Expo also runs in Guangzhou in September and reported 1,731 exhibitors and 56,127 trade visitors in 2024. It draws heavily on Guangdong importers, provincial delegations and trade-association groups, which suits a supplier already committed to the Pearl River Delta. SIAL Guangzhou has the stronger international buyer program and the SIAL Innovation and award competitions, which count for more with a foreign brand looking for its first Chinese distributor or a Chinese factory looking for Southeast Asian importers.

SIAL Shanghai is the same organizer's May fair and far larger, with 174,365 visitors in 2025 and importers from every part of China. FHC in Shanghai each November counted 173,143 professional visitors in 2025 and is the stronger choice for imported food aimed at hotels, restaurants and premium retail.

A company that needs national coverage or meets its importers once a year is better served in Shanghai. A company whose target customers are southern chains such as Freshippo or Meiyijia, community fresh-food retailers, or distributors in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia meets them in a more concentrated setting in Guangzhou.

The right trip for Chinese producers and foreign food brands that want buyers from South China's supermarket chains and Southeast Asian importers in the same halls.

Who exhibits

Most exhibitors are Chinese producers from across the country, with many from the north and northeast: edible oil and grain companies such as Datong Huajian Oil, agricultural groups like Jilin Shengxin Agricultural Technology Group, and seafood and snack makers such as Lianyungang Zhongzao Food. International exhibitors come largely from Southeast Asia, including past exhibitors Camaria Global from Malaysia and Chin Huay from Thailand, alongside national pavilions such as Georgia's. Many listings carry a Ready to export tag, which marks suppliers already shipping abroad.

This year's list is on its way. A HallBrief brief picks the exhibitors worth meeting for your goals and the people to talk to at each. Get a brief

SIAL Guangzhou 2027

The 2026 show was the first in Guangzhou and filled four halls of the Poly World Trade Center Expo. It produced 5,883 matchmaking meetings, and deals announced on the floor included 25 project agreements signed by a delegation from Zhangye and an initial order of 10 shipping containers of Leiqia instant noodles for Dutch buyers.

The next show returns to the same venue in September 2027, the fifth SIAL in China South, again with the Top Buyer Programme, Match Me meetings and the SIAL Innovation competition.

• Importers and distributors with a large annual buying volume should apply for the Top Buyer Programme before the show: the Hosted Buyer tier covers hotel nights and part of the flight and comes with at least 18 pre-booked supplier meetings.
• Filter the online exhibitor list for the Ready to export tag before you go. On the floor, the organizer also marks export-qualified, halal-certified and clean-label suppliers on the maps and at the booths.
• International buyers should ask the Top Buyer team for an invitation to SIAL Elite Hour, the invitation-only reception where selected buyers meet brand owners after the meeting program.

Exhibiting

Stands are sold as raw space or shell scheme, with sponsorship packages on top. Exhibitors from mainland China and Hong Kong book through the Beijing team and overseas exhibitors through SIAL's Paris office. The show pays off for brands with export-ready products and a clear target in South China retail or Southeast Asian import channels, because the buyer program and Match Me meetings are built around those buyers.