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The South Africa companies and agencies that are exhibiting at the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai have expressed their satisfaction with the responses they are receiving from potential Chinese clients.
The delegation is being funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) through the Export Marketing and Investment Assistance (EMIA) Scheme.
SA’s current export basket to China consist mainly of minerals and raw materials and the CIIE is regarded as an opportunity to showcase the diversity of value-added products SA is able to export to China.
The SA delegation is made up of a mix of well-established companies and export councils representing the agro-processing, engineering, chemicals, rail, infrastructure, consumer goods and ICT sectors. The CIIE event also provided an opportunity to showcase some of SA's export ready black industrialist companies.
The managing director of North West-based Ditsogo Project, Tebogo Mosito says she is confident that the Chinese market can really open up investment opportunities for them to export their products. Ditsogo Projects is an engineering company offering services such as metal fabrication, manufacturing of rolling stock conveyors structures, hoppers and chutes, and electrical supplies.
"One of the two orders that I received are worth R2m and I managed to secure them within two days," said Mosito.
She thanked government and the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) for investing in her business by opening up opportunities to trade globally. She added that the dti has enabled her to attend international expos which the company would not have been able to afford.
Elmo Moore of the Paltechnologies, a company that is based in Pretoria, said their participation at the China International Import Expo was hugely beneficial. The Paltechnologies company manufactures, amongst others, single and double eccentric butterfly valves, slurry sleeve valves, non-return valves and swing check valves.
"There has been a lot of interest from agents who want to distribute our products in China. We will also be working with Beijing Axis to set-up an operation in China...We are currently in a process of setting up refurbishment plant in Ghana because the dti took us to an exhibition called Wampex in June this year and that’s has been the end result of that exhibition,” said Moore.
Thulani Nobela of Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency, indicated that as a province they have also benefitted by participating in the China International Import Expo. According to Nobela, they have received enquiries mainly on citrus fruit, coal and macadamia products and there were a few enquiries about edible oil.
Minister Rob Davies earlier in the week addressed the SA Investment Seminar on the margins of CIIE in Shanghai. He said exhibitions like the CIIE give SA an advantage to display products, goods and services that can be supplied to the Chinese market.
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