An international trade fair on textiles and garments has been scheduled for Oct. 18-21 in Shantou, a coastal city of south China's Guangdong Province, the first event of its kind in the area.

The trade fair, featuring local culture and character, offers stages for fashion shows, opportunities of brand promotion, along with seminars and model contests.

Textiles and garments are pillar industries for economic growthin Shantou. They account for 14.36 percent of local industrial output value, or 5.03 billion yuan (606 million US dollars), and 16 percent of local exports, or 245 million dollars.

By the end of 2002, Shantou had more than 5,400 textile and garment producers and 17,000 trade companies.
 

(Xinhua News Agency July 21, 2002)