The European Union and the United States remained the top buyers at the Canton Fair despite the financial crisis, figures from the fair organizers show.

Two overseas businessmen negotiate with an executive of a Chinese company at the Canton Fair in Guangzhou in 2008.

However, orders from ASEAN countries, Brazil and South Africa increased greatly, organizers say.

Exhibitors received a total of US.06 billion worth of overseas orders as of Friday. The top three buyers were the European Union, Middle East, and the United States, according to fair organizers.

As of Friday, orders from the European Union reached US.9 billion, accounting for 27 percent of the total orders; those from the United States topped US0 million, accounting for 11.4 percent of the total.

Orders from Brazil, the ASEAN, and South America increased sharply. The increase was most obvious with the electrical and mechanical products, which accounted for 86.4 percent of the total export value at the fair.

Brazilian companies nearly doubled their orders of electrical and mechanical products at the fair. ASEAN orders of electrical and mechanical products jumped 38.4 percent. Electrical and mechanical orders from South Africa also jumped nearly 30 percent.

The fair ended its first session Sunday. The second session will start Friday.