SA Businesspeople Head Home from China with Bagful of Deals and Leads |
| A group of cheerful South African businesspeople is heading home from China today with an enviable bagful of enterprising leads, deals and contacts after participating in the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) that ended in Shanghai yesterday. The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) funded their participation in the expo with the aim of providing them with an opportunity to showcase their products to the Chinese importers in particular, and international buyers from across the globe, in general.
Members of the South African business delegation, which was led by the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Nomalungelo Gina expressed delight at the huge number of importers and buyers that visited them at the South African Pavillion. While several of them managed to clinch lucrative deals, all of them are optimistic that the leads they generated there will soon develop into concrete deals, while the contacts they made will translate into contracts in the near future. The Technical Enterprise Developer of the Kimberley Diamond and Jewellery Incubator, Mr Desmond Ratsoma admitted he was overwhelmed by the hordes of visitors that were attracted by his jewellery and loose diamonds. “We managed to sell quite a large number of jewellery accessories during the fair. The Chinese were really fascinated by our products. Unfortunately, the regulations for selling loose diamonds were stringent and cumbersome. Otherwise, we could have sold a lot of diamonds We ended up selling only the diamond that is mounted on jewellery,” says Ratsoma. The Managing Director of the Cape Town-based Breva Beverages, Ms Gladys Mawoneke is confident that she will soon achieve her objective of penetrating the Chinese market after meeting with numerous Chinese importers and distributors. “Most of them showed keen interest in importing our products. We are hopeful that by this time next year we will have sent some stock of our low and no-alcohol beverage products to China. The contacts we made are so promising that we will be starting with the process of registration and labelling of our products soon,” adds Mawoneke. The Sales Director of Limpopo-based Peppadew International, Mr Kian MacRae says his company’s food products tantalised the taste buds of the Chinese visitors, and impressed many importers. “Virtually all of the people who tasted our products wanted to know where to find them in China. I am hoping to establish our presence in the near future as I have engaged with four Chinese potential importers and distributors who are genuinely interested in importing our products into China,” adds MacRae. The General Manager of Prosperitas Fruits, Mr Stephan Kruger admits the enormity of the CIIE boggled his mind, “This is a trade fair on another level. You cannot even compare the numbers of visitors with other international shows that I have attended. Many importers, exporters, distributors, buyers, e-commerce traders and many other people who were interested in exploring our new products visited my stand. It will be a mission to sift wheat from the chuff. However, there is a potential Chinese customer who will be coming to South Africa for us to complete a deal. This will provide us with a golden opportunity to export huge volumes of our raisins to China in about three months,” adds Kruger whose company is based in the Northern Cape. The Managing Director of Trajan Wines, Mr Mark van Schalkwyk is also already arranging a site visit to his Stellenbosch-based wine company by potential Chinese importers.
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