Many business opportunities for South African companies are available in China, according to South African companies that exhibited at the 1st China International Import Expo (CIIE) from November 5 to 10 in Shanghai, the trade and industry department (dti) said on Sunday.
DesSoft business developer Mark Taylor said in a statement issued by the dti that the trip to China CIIE had been very successful and the company had excellent leads to work on.
“We got major opportunities to work into China. The leads that I have had, the feet that have come past here have been of high level. I would say this has been quite easily the best of pavilions that I have been to. We travel regularly with dti and some very focused trips that we have been to in other countries. This is the one that has proven to have the best opportunities for us that we could grab immediately,” Taylor said.
Port Elizabeth-based company the Little Slipper co-CEO Kate Horne, who also represented the South African Footwear and Leather Export Council, said there was a phenomenal market for the sector in China. The Little Slipper manufactures footwear and specialises in children's leather footwear.
“Yes, every day we walk away excited by the contacts we have made each day. We’ve got a constant flow of people showing interest in our product as it is very unique and different. They can see the quality that we produce and we have definitely been approached by lots of e-commerce sites, lots of trading houses, government officials, and even an opportunity to mingle with other targeted countries that we could possibly export to," Horne said.
Pioneer of Durability Engineering CEO Seponono Kekana said her efforts in participating in the CIIE had not been in vain as it had enabled her to meet not only Chinese but other potential clients from Africa. Kekana said she had contacts ready to be followed up.
While South Africa’s current export basket to China consisted mainly of minerals and raw materials, the CIIE presented an opportunity to showcase the diversity of value-added products South Africa was able to export to China, the dti said.
The South African delegation was 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 export-ready black industrialist companies, it said.