Nigerian trading companies participating in the 6th Edition of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) have lauded the Chinese Government for opening up its 1.4 billion market to the rest of the world to bring their products and sell in the Chinese market.
The Expo was declared open in the Chinese business city of Shanghai on Sunday by the Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who in his opening address, said that the Expo promotes free trade, adding that "China is ready to share the opportunities of its market" in order to boost global trade relations for mutual benefits and shared prosperity.
Speaking to our correspondent at the Nigerian Pavilion of the Exhibition Hall, Victor Ayemere, the Managing Director of Zeenab Group, the operators of the Nigerian Export Trade House China Far-East Region, said the Chinese have proved that they are ready to do business with the rest of the world.
He said "We are here to showcase what we have from Nigeria and this year we will do everything possible to ensure that we get as many customers as possible. We will feature in all the various B2B sessions and we will do everything possible to see that the journey is worthwhile. You can see we have sorghum, millet, sesame seed, ginger, cocoa, cashew and many others listed on the Good on Protocol list."
He, however, lamented that Nigerian firms find it difficult to buy agro-commodities for export because of constraints such as poor structure on the part of Nigeria and credit facility whose interest rate is at a double-digit. He therefore called on the Nigerian Government to address the matter in order to help the companies grow and get foreign exchange for the country.
Also speaking, Engineer Daniel Igbinoba, General Manager of the Habris Food Industries, said China is one of Nigeria's biggest partners and one of the biggest buyers of Nigerian agro-commodities.
He said "We want to exploit all the opportunities that are available for us to sell our agro-commodities and increase our non-oil exports. If we can do more exports, especially more non-oil exports, it will bring about economic diversification, increase foreign exchange and minimise the trade deficit between Nigeria and China."
Also speaking, Director of Nigerian Trade Warehouse China, Markson Farason Onwukwe, decried the inability to secure credit facilities from the Nigerian government on favourable conditions saying it has affected the private sector and reduced the number of agro-products that Nigerian firms can bring to the Chinese market.
He said "China's consumption rate is very high and their demand is also very high. Nigeria is not meeting up with the demands in China because of the constraints of getting funds to export goods to China. For decades China has been exporting goods to Nigeria and without the government helping the private sector to make funds available it will be difficult for us to compete. Having a double-digit interest rate is the worst of it all. Government should try everything possible to make it a single digit so that the private sector can thrive and then bring the needed foreign exchange to the country."
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The annual expo has leveraged the strengths of China's enormous market, fulfilled its platform function for international procurement, investment promotion, people-to-people exchanges, and open cooperation, and made a positive contribution to creating a new development pattern and promoting world economic development.
The CIIE contributes to sound domestic circulation and links it up with international circulation. The CIIE is a window into China's economic vibrancy. It helps pump up the world economy and provides an important platform for foreign businesses to tap into China's immense market potential.
This year's CIIE is expected to attract guests from 154 countries, regions, and international organizations and more than 3,400 registered exhibitors, and nearly 410,000 registered professional visitors. So far, more than 70 countries and international organizations across five continents have confirmed their participation in the Country Exhibition.
Among them, 11 countries are participating for the very first time and 34 are participating physically for the first time. Nearly 300 Fortune 500 companies and market leaders are joining the event, exceeding the numbers in previous years.
