China creates market opportunities for foreign enterprises via import expo, says businessman

Published: October 30,2023

Frandan Tumukunde, a sales executive at Star Cafe, shows coffee products from his enterprise in Mukono, central Uganda, Oct. 24, 2023. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua)

China is offering opportunities to foreign enterprises by allowing them to access its large market through exhibitions like the China International Import Expo (CIIE), Frandan Tumukunde, a coffee practitioner from Uganda, told Xinhua.

Tumukunde is a sales executive at Star Cafe. In the central Ugandan district of Mukono, the roastery and packaging section at the private enterprise is filled with the strong aroma of coffee as workers package the beverage for the global market, including China.

Tumukunde said his company is keen to reach trade deals at the upcoming expo, and that it will be the first time the company is exhibiting at the event, although their products have attended other exhibitions in China.

The 6th CIIE, scheduled for Nov. 5-10 in Shanghai, is expected to attract hundreds of foreign enterprises intending to reach the Chinese market.

Tumukunde is optimistic that at the expo, he will communicate with more young Chinese who are open to trying out the homegrown premium coffee products from Uganda.

There is a young generation in China who “is willing to explore and buy more coffee. This is what is driving the highest consumer consumption of coffee in China,” he said.

He said that according to his company’s research, the Chinese market has been expanding, and that will stimulate the interest of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Uganda and across Africa.

“These expos are open, you get exposed to potential buyers and I believe any Ugandan or African SME should be able to come and look out for this market,” he added.

He said Star Cafe, as a private Ugandan enterprise, has entered into partnerships with other Chinese enterprises via other expos.

According to the Uganda Export Promotion Board, a government agency responsible for promoting Uganda’s exports, the CIIE serves not only as a platform for emerging and developing economies to present their products to the Chinese market, but also as a networking opportunity that allows Chinese enterprises to establish partnerships with foreign companies, enabling them to offer products or services for both the Chinese and global markets.

“We have some partners in China, and we are looking to have more partners because new partners come with new deals,” Tumukunde said.

“We are open-minded, we are up to any partner that would love to buy our coffee,” he added. 

This photo taken on Oct. 24, 2023 shows coffee products from Star Cafe in Mukono, central Uganda. (Photo by HajarahNalwadda/Xinhua)

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