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Exporters find new market at home

By Tu Lei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-03-13 19:16

The first floor of the department store selling foreign trade products as part of the exhibition in Beijing was bustling with people on Friday looking for deals at the various counters selling textiles, porcelain, bags, photo frames etc.

And for those who did buy something it was worth it. Many like Zeng queued up for nearly half an hour to buy a yogurt maker.

Others like Gao and his wife bought electronic watches for 60 yuan last week and intended to buy another one this week. "The export goods are of good quality, and not that expensive," said Gao. He commuted one and a half hours by bus from southern Beijing, to the Jinyuan New Yansha Mall, where the export fair is being held.

The fair is the second stage of the month-long foreign goods trade fair being organized by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce to introduce export-oriented producers to the domestic market. The first stage opened last week, and revenue on the first day itself was more than 100,000 yuan, said a report from Reference News.

Gu Ping, general manager of security with Jinyuan Yansha, said the number of shoppers now has doubled over other days.

For many like Zhang Hong, CEO, Beijing Rikon Electric Appliances Co Ltd, the fair was a success as her products sold like hot cakes and notched up an impressive sales volume of 300 yogurt makers in one morning itself.

She said the company, which had an income of $2 million from exports last year, has also inked an agreement with French retailer Carrefour. The company is also holding discussions with other department stores and agencies in Shandong, Shijiazhuang and Shenzhen.

"The fair was far beyond my expectations," said Zhang.

Lin Min, vice-general manager, Beijing Best Power Technology Development Co Ltd, a waste disposal company, said the fair has helped shorten the time needed for cooperation with domestic retailers.

"The negotiation time has been shortened from half a year to one month via the fair," said Lin. The company also signed a 3-million-yuan order deal with Carrefour at the fair last week.

But for many others it has been a long wait as they are yet to ink deals with major retail chains for their products.

"I had never thought our products can be so popular. But till now, there have been no agencies coming to my stall for business negotiations," said a seller from Pright (China) Co Ltd, a color-basket producer, who declined to be named. It is her first time at the fair, and all her products were sold out within three hours.

A salesman who declined to be named said producers of export-oriented products should have a clear understanding of domestic sales channels, but some foreign trade companies still lack experience in this area, including after-sales service and logistics.

The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce is considering introducing more fairs like this, said Chen Zexing, deputy director of the bureau.

"Our current task is to enhance the training of export-oriented companies, and help them understand more about the domestic market," said Chen.

Across the road the Shandong provincial government has also organized a fair in which 28 companies from Shandong are participating.

China's foreign trade volume shrank sharply in February, according to figures released by the General Administration of Customs.

Exports dropped 25.7 percent year-on-year to $64.9 billion, the largest fall in more than a decade and the fourth monthly decline in a row. Imports fell 24.1 percent to $60.05 billion.