Ecuador participates in the I International Import Exhibition of China

Ecuadortimes:

It is being celebrated from today in Shanghai until November 10, where Ecuadorian businessmen will be. It is estimated that it will attract around 160,000 buyers from more than 80,000 companies in the Asian giant and abroad.

With expectation and support from the Government, Ecuadorian businessmen will participate in the First International Import Exhibition of China (CIIE, for its acronym in English), which is held from today until November 10 in Shanghai.

Representatives of at least 15 Ecuadorian companies participate in the event, under the coordination of the Institute of Promotion of Exports and Investments (Pro Ecuador) and the National Federation of Exporters. The president of the Ecuadorian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, José Antonio Hidalgo, told the Xinhua news agency.

The Chamber, which groups 320 members, supports the promotion of the exhibition and communicates the processes so that entrepreneurs know details of that market and can export and import and the steps to follow. It is estimated that the CIIE, created as a platform for the promotion of international trade, will attract around 160,000 buyers from more than 80,000 Chinese and foreign companies.

The event will include exhibitions and forums and are part of China’s strategy to open its market to the world and facilitate trade between participating countries.

It is a “great initiative” of Chinese President Xi Jinping, which seeks to consolidate the different sectors that consumers in his country need, Hidalgo said. He pointed out that, in this sense, they worked with local entrepreneurs in the food and agroindustry sectors, through conferences and forums held in Quito and Guayaquil, to have a presence in this Shanghai fair.

He said that it is a very interesting event that also goes in the framework of the initiative of the Strip and the Route, which wants to consolidate China from here to future as a new State policy. Ecuadorian businessmen believe that the CIIE will be an opportunity to contact the world’s largest food exporters.

They know that in China there is a food deficit to satisfy and that its population and the middle class is increasing, so Ecuador must attract potential exporters.

One of China’s great objectives is to eradicate poverty by 2020, a factor that also makes it one of the most interesting markets for food and agro-industry. In this sense – say Hidalgo – the approaches and contacts should be strengthened to strengthen trade with more products and services of high added value, including tourism.

To do this, Ecuador must maintain constant communication and teams dedicated to this market. “What China wants is international fruit, they are the biggest consumers with 200 million tons a year,” observed Hidalgo, which is an opportunity for Latin American countries that focus their comparative advantage in agriculture.

Latin America and the Caribbean have favorable characteristics for agricultural production, but companies must be at the forefront of electronic commerce (“e-commerce”), which consists of the purchase and sale of products or services through media electronic networks such as social networks and internet sites. “There is an approach by the Chinese government to have more digital platforms, to enter more food and diversify these platforms to take advantage of consumption. We see the adaptability that Chinese society has towards platforms and electronic money with (the social network) WeChat, “Hidalgo reflected.

“We want people to remove their doubts, that taboo on how platforms work and how products can be promoted. What we want is to communicate what is happening and that the business community not only sees it as the “boom” but is part of that Chinese ‘e-commerce’, “he said.

According to the Chamber, Ecuador has a trade deficit with China of $ 2,000 million. The main national products to the Asian country are shrimp, banana and mango. The challenge is to diversify the shipments.

According to the Chinese Embassy in Ecuador, in the first half of 2018 bilateral trade volume reached $ 2,503 million, 21.6% more than in the same period of 2017. Meanwhile, exports from Ecuador to China increased by 104 %. (I)

Source: https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/mundo/8/ecuador-exposicion-internacional-importaciones-china