Depth report

　　

2023 The first Hainan International Tropical Food Supply Chain Expo opened in Haikou on the 12th. At this exhibition, Southeast Asian exhibitors brought high-quality tropical ingredients to connect with customers, looking forward to further developing the Chinese consumer market.

Malaysian bird's nest, Cambodian pepper, Lao rice... The reporter saw at the exhibition that the passenger flow in front of the booths of Southeast Asian countries continued, and merchants asked about the production and quality of ingredients in detail.

The people depend on food, and eating is the first people's livelihood. With the improvement of living standards of Chinese residents, more and more imported ingredients enrich the "taste of China". Cui Zhongfu, vice president and secretary-general of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, said in May this year that after the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) came into effect, China's import and export of food ingredients increased dependence on ASEAN.

Trade between China and ASEAN will be facilitated, and tropical ingredients will have a wider access to China. Dong Wanyu, executive president of the Cambodia (Haikou) Business Center, brought more than 10 kinds of Cambodian agricultural products such as cashew nuts, pepper and rice, and he hopes to find Chinese manufacturers to cooperate, "to help Cambodia establish agricultural products brands, but also enrich the choice of Chinese consumers."

Malaysia's Musang King durian is deeply loved by Chinese consumers, and the country's Fruitful Group has just started to explore the Chinese market. "Musang King durian leads the whole industry chain." Anderson, deputy general manager of the company, said that the company is looking for Chinese partners to develop durian and extended products, such as cakes, pizza, ice cream, egg tarts and so on. He also said that the opening opportunities brought by RCEP and the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative have made the door of good ingredients from Southeast Asia to enter the Chinese market increasingly large.

China's strong demand for Southeast Asian ingredients is also driving the logistics industry. Malaysia AirAsia set up a supply chain subsidiary Grocer, business manager Li Qiuhui introduced, the company has built a number of cold storage in Malaysia, the green crab, jackfruit, durian and other ingredients to air to China, "we also want to negotiate more Chinese importers, to provide farm-to-market docking."

Southeast Asian companies are looking for markets, and Chinese companies are looking for suppliers. Chen Jianguo, chief brand operating officer of Hainan Maili Factory Group Co., LTD., which is engaged in nut processing and sales, said that Hainan is building a free trade port, and it may be more affordable for Southeast Asian ingredients to enter the mainland market through Hainan after the closure of the entire island.