Zimbabwe trade fair exhibitors seek to expand cooperation with China

BULAWAYO - A diverse range of African exhibitors at this year's Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) have expressed a strong interest in expanding business partnerships with China, the world's second-largest economy.

ZITF, Zimbabwe's premier annual trade fair, featured more than 600 exhibitors, including foreign participants from 28 countries, showcasing their products and services at the six-day event, which concluded on Saturday.

Mary Mwalwanda Msukwa, managing director of Tilawe Products, a Malawian company that supplies agricultural products, shared her hopes of introducing and exporting Kilombero rice, a long-grain, aromatic white rice predominantly grown in Malawi, into China.

"The Kilombero rice is very good, very flavored, very aromatic, so we want to penetrate the Chinese market because of that, because we know that we can find a lot of markets in China," she told Xinhua on Friday.

To market the variety in China, Msukwa plans to exhibit Kilombero rice and other products at the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo in China, hoping to seize the opportunity to further develop business ties with Chinese companies.

Rachael Dube, sales manager from Samtric Supplies, a South African mining equipment supplier, expressed a similar desire to strengthen business relationships with Chinese firms.

She explained that the company already has experience working with Chinese mining companies and is now eager to expand this cooperation. "As Zimbabwe and China have strengthened their cooperation in mining, it also brings equipment suppliers like us more opportunities, and that's why we are here at the trade fair looking for more and more potential customers," she said.

Malebo Matlala, another sales manager from a South African clothing company, shared that her company has been importing materials from China to produce safari-related products.

With the increasing number of Chinese tourists visiting Africa for safari trips, she sees this as an opportunity to promote the company's products, ranging from safari shoes to backpacks. "We are also trying to find a Chinese manufacturer who can help us manufacture the products in China and tap into the Chinese market," she said.