GUANGZHOU - The Canton Fair, China's largest trade fair and a key indicator of the country's trade and economic development, opened Friday amid growing inflation concerns weighing on the nation's exporters.

In addition to exploring business opportunities, the multitudes of sellers and buyers at the fair, officially known as the China Import and Export Fair, are keeping a close watch on developments in the nation's rising inflation.

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, hit a 32-month high when it rose to 5.4 percent in March from the same month last year, while the CPI stood at 5 percent for the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday.

"The increasing costs of raw materials and labor really pinched us," said Zhang Tieyan, Branding & Marketing Department Director of Haier Group.

Zhang's opinion was echoed by many other large- and medium-sized companies at the fair.

"We have to try hard to improve technology, expand new markets and promote efficiency to confront negative impact," said Zhang, adding that establishing production lines in target markets like central Asia and Europe could also help.

Analysts say companies, both large and small, should take an active role in new strategic industries as China is at a crucial stage of restructuring its economy.

This session of the fair requires a record 1.16 million square meters -- 30,000 square meters more than the last session -- of space inside Guangzhou's China Import & Export Fair Complex and will attract an all-time high of 24,415 exhibitors -- 816 more than at the last session.

The first Canton Fair was held in 1957.