South Africa’s participation at the 7th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai has ended on a high note with the South African businesspeople expressing confidence and optimism that the trade leads will soon result into concrete deals. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) supported 35 companies to showcase their products and services at the international exhibition held from 5-10 November 2024.
The exhibition is a platform created to provide an opportunity for companies from all over the world to showcase their products capabilities in China, but most importantly to potential buyers of goods and services. On display at the South African stands were a variety of products, including wines, jewellery, agricultural and agro-processed products, bags and other services such as engineering among others.
The Director of NTGR, Mr Abednico Mkhari, says his company signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a joint venture with a major Chinese company for the construction of a road in Tanzania. “We are now finalising finer details of our agreement. Our new partner is one of the subsidiaries of Power China and was awarded this contract by the Tanzanian government to build a road. As NTGR, we will be bringing capabilities and machinery that can be used in the project. We are obviously very happy that our participation in the CIIE has enabled our company this significant opportunity,” he said.
Mr Garron Arendse of Rhodes Food Group (RFG) says although their company is quite established, and they have a footprint globally, they had in the past focused most of their efforts on the European markets. He says participation in the CIIE has enabled them to find new leads for possible expansion into the 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.
The Director of Export Promotion and Marketing at the DTIC, who led the business delegation to the CIIE, Mr Siphamandla Kumkani 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 provided huge business for both small medium companies but also emerging exporters,” said Kumkani.
