South Africa secures trade success at China expo

South Africa’s presence at the seventh China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai concluded with notable success, leaving local businesses optimistic about the potential for turning trade leads into tangible partnerships.

Supported by the department of trade, industry, and competition (DTIC), 35 South African companies recently showcased a range of products and services during the expo.

According to the DTIC, a variety of products, including wines, jewellery, and agricultural and agro-processed products were on display at the South African stands.

Expanding to Chinese markets

Garron Arendse of the Rhodes Food Group (RFG) says although their company is quite established and has a global footprint, they have focused most of their efforts on European markets in the past.

He said their participation in the CIIE has enabled them to find new leads for possible expansion into Chinese markets.

“The interactions at the CIIE allowed us the opportunity to gain knowledge into the Chinese market environment, pricing trends, understanding what is in demand.

“In addition to distributors, we have had a few restaurant owners interested in our products and we hope we will be able to finalise those soon so that we can begin to send containers to the Chinese market,” he said.

Siphamandla Kumkani, the director of export promotion and marketing at the DTIC who led the business delegation to the CIIE, says he is pleased with the results.

“The companies have performed exceedingly well. One of the key features of the CIIE is that one gets an opportunity to meet companies from different regional blocks.

“Many of our companies have received bankable trade and investment leads. It is our view that the event is getting bigger every year and provides huge business for both small [and] medium companies but also emerging exporters,” Kumkani said.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s consulate general to Shanghai, Phuti Tsipa, said the country needs to continue to invest in efforts to ensure that more value-added products are exported to global markets.

“We would like to see more and more South African businesses penetrating critical global markets, thus growing their businesses and assisting the efforts to grow the economy and create jobs,” she said.

Tsipa said the expo was a great platform to showcase South Africa’s high-quality products and she hopes progressive deals would be clinched following the match-making engagements.

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