The ninth Dongguan China Shoes-China Shoetec fair took place from May 5-7 with 483 exhibitors presenting footwear, materials, accessories, machinery and technology over 21,000 square meters. More than 20 percent of the booths represented companies from outside China. This edition focused on developing domestic and international emerging markets and providing market news to industry players in the middle-to-high-range sectors. The show drew 15,309 visitors from 72 countries and regions. The fair was taking place at a time of declining exports to the U.S. and Europe from Dongguan, where footwear is one of the major industries. However, according to a report on Dongguan’s first-quarter results, the number of exported shoes in March 2009 was up by 75.7 percent from February 2009. Shoe exports in January-February 2009 totaled 1.19 billion pairs, down by 9.7 percent, and generated $4.07 billion, down by 2.4 percent. But the average export price has risen by 8.1 percent to $3.40 per pair. This would imply that the recession has stimulated the upgrading and transforming of China’s footwear industry.