FROM AFRICA TO CHINA
African companies showcase their products at import expo for Chinese consumers
Colorful roses from Kenya, fragrant coffee from Ethiopia and succulent oysters from Namibia. These were just some of the eclectic range of products from Africa on display at the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) held in Shanghai on November 5-10.
Among the companies showcasing their products and services at the expo, 200 were from over 40 African countries, including South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Egypt.
African countries were given special treatment at the CIIE. “We support African countries in participating in the CIIE,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in September, adding that the least developed African countries participating in the expo would be exempted from paying exhibition stand fees.
“The expo shows China is open for business, and it promotes trade partnerships and helps close trading gaps between China and Africa,” said Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta who led a delegation of horticultural farmers and traders to China for the event.
Closer to the market
Elisabeth E. Pali-tchalla’s booth was one of the busiest at the expo, constantly surrounded by crowds of buyers interested in her products. As general manager of the Togolese shea company STK, she never imagined her shea butter products could be so popular among Chinese customers.
“Few Chinese customers know about shea butter. We’ve come just at the right moment. The expo provides us with a platform to let them know what our products are all about,” Pali-tchalla told Beijing Review.
Extracted from the nuts of the karité tree that grow in the Sahel region extending from West to East Africa, shea butter products can be used cosmetically to block UV radiation, as skin moisturizing cream and to heal minor injuries and scars. It is also traditionally used in food preparation.
Pali-tchalla said that with the rise in demand for natural and organic products in China, she expected a significant growth of the shea butter market in China.
In Ethiopia, enjoying a cup of coffee with friends is a longstanding tradition. “Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee. We have high-quality hand-made coffee. The CIIE is the start of Ethiopian coffee investigating entry into the