Rwandan companies ready to attend 2nd China International Import Expo: official

KIGALI - Five Rwandan companies have already registered for the second China International Import Expo (CIIE), according to a Rwandan official, who hailed the expo as "a golden opportunity to showcase Rwandan exports to the Chinese market."

The products from Rwanda to be exhibited at the second CIIE are mainly coffee, pepper and handcrafts, said Sanny Ntayombya, head of communications and marketing at Rwanda Development Board, adding that the Chinese market is "a market which we are looking at trading more with."

He said that Rwandan enterprises "are all prepared and expect to benefit from making sales and sealing export deals with major trade partners such as Alibaba and other potential partners that will attend the expo."

"Rwanda's forecast of trade with China is looking good at the moment, and we already have many companies mainly trading coffee products with China," he said.

In the long run, more Rwandan companies will be doing business through the Alibaba platform as negotiations are already taking place to include beef and avocado in Rwandan exports to China, Ntayombya said.

The second CIIE is "definitely a very good opportunity to boost our trade ties with China," he added.

"Rwandans should always be on the lookout for trade fairs in China and sign up for them through Rwanda Development Board," he said.

A total of 172 countries, regions and international organizations and more than 3,600 enterprises participated in the first CIIE held last November in Shanghai. The second CIIE is slated to take place in early November this year in Shanghai.