China's Langfang city holds agro products fair

SHIJIAZHUANG -- A national agricultural products trade fair held in Langfang, North China's Hebei province, has attracted the attendance of foreign officials.

The 16th China (Langfang) Agricultural Product Trade Fair, held from Wednesday to Friday, saw more than 5,000 agricultural breeds on display to domestic and overseas visitors.

First Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia in China Vesna Krstikj Andreevaka was surprised to see a 200-kg pumpkin at the fair.

"I have never seen such a big pumpkin in my life," she said in Chinese.

The breed of pumpkin was developed by Jifa Company, based in Qinhuangdao, Hebei province, and was crowned "pumpkin king" at a pumpkin contest in China in 2007, organizers said.

Heairestoth Faailaotis, press counselor of the Embassy of Greece in China, said the fair is likely to become an international one, as the organizers have continued to invite and attract foreign officials and enterprises to attend the event.

Initiated in 1998, the event in Langfang is sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives and the Hebei Provincial Government. The total value of contracts signed over the past 15 fairs has exceeded 7.2 billion yuan ($1.14 billion).