Around 1,600 North American businessmen attended the annual Eastern China Commodity Fair, the Xinhua news agency said, suggesting a drop of about 50 percent from last year.

Data from last year's fair showed nearly 2,400 businessmen from the United States and Canada participated.

The fair could indicate the trend in China's foreign trade in 2008, Xinhua said, citing experts.

"The number of American businessmen to the fair was only two thirds of those from the European Union, showing lacking domestic demand in the United States," Wang Qingjiang, an official with the fair was quoted as saying.

"The subprime crisis in the United States has shown its influence on China's exports," Wang added.

Economists have said China would probably see exports slowing this year due to weakening external demand with the fallout from the US subprime mortgage crisis and other factors like a stronger Chinese yuan against the US dollar.

The five-day fair starting from March 1 attracted more than 19,000 businessmen from 145 countries and regions around the world, with more than 60 percent from Asia, according to the report.

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