Beijing, November 6 – China International Import Expo (CIIE) began on November 5 in Shanghai, China. A unique booth in the corner of the food and agricultural products section drew a large number of customers.
Yousof Sadat, an Afghan exhibitor on the CIIE who speaks fluent Chinese, stated, "This is the first time we’ve participated in the CIIE, and we already have some wholesale orders on the first day. We brought dried apricot, saffron crocus, pine nuts, etc. this year. Dried apricot and pine nut goods are the most popular ones. In the next few days, I anticipate seeing an increase in both customers and orders.
"I believe that despite the CIIE giving us a platform to showcase our products, Afghan products are still not well known in China. The Chinese market is slowly becoming aware of and accepting of us. We still have three or four containerized products coming here right now. Added he.
"We will increase trade between China and Afghanistan since we have a strong cooperation between the two nations.”
The owner of the dried fruit company and the CEO of Yousof, Nida Mohammad Popal, also expressed his gratitude for China’s openness. "China is a great market for Afghan items, and shipping there is quick. In addition, several nations refuse to grant us visas as a result of the change in our government. We can still travel to China. I also do a lot of imports from China to Afghanistan, like fertilizer.
"I believe that despite the CIIE giving us a platform to showcase our products, Afghan products are still not well known in China. The Chinese market is slowly becoming aware of and accepting of us. We still have three or four containerized products coming here right now. Amir Khan Muttaqi, the interim foreign minister of Afghanistan, met with Wang Yi, the State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, in July. Wang emphasized that China is willing to strive for the Belt and Road Initiative to be integrated with Afghanistan’s national development plans, promote the expansion of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and share China’s development chances.
Additionally, Pakistan produces a lot of excellent pine nuts and apricots. Future appearances of Pakistani dried fruit on CIIE are conceivable.
