Global Rice News

XTRA Hypermarket in Morocco Excited about Agricultural Products at the 9th Sichuan Agricultural Expo

CHENGDU, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) — Taourghist Abdessamad, head of a hypermarket called “XTRA” in Morocco, was thrilled by the variety of agricultural products showcased at the 9th Sichuan Agricultural Expo, which concluded on Monday in Chengdu, the capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

Abdessamad expressed his surprise, as he had initially anticipated being able to purchase only basic agricultural products like wheat and soybeans. However, he was pleasantly surprised to find such a wide range of agricultural commodities. He was particularly interested in the local green tea and is planning to contact a Chinese tea company to buy some samples and bring them back to Morocco.

The expo took place from October 27 to 30 and spanned an exhibition area of 140,000 square meters. It attracted 3,000 enterprises from China and many foreign countries. Representatives from foreign companies actively sought cooperation with Chinese agricultural enterprises.

According to the organizers, foreign countries including the United Kingdom, Nepal, the Republic of Korea, Pakistan, and Italy held various special activities during the exhibition. Many foreign representatives in attendance showed great interest in the agricultural products market in China’s western regions.

Kulager Abdecho Degaga from Ethiopia introduced coffee beans from his hometown and made coffee for visitors to taste during the expo. He mentioned that his company has been trading with Chinese companies for over a decade. Initially, they mainly imported agricultural machinery from Shandong Province to African countries. However, with an increasing number of young Chinese people developing a taste for coffee, they began exporting Ethiopian coffee and sesame to China in 2016. Last year, their sales reached 150,000 U.S. dollars.

This year, a special “Belt and Road” agricultural cooperation pavilion was set up at the expo. Its aim was to promote exchanges and cooperation between enterprises from “Belt and Road” partner countries in the field of agriculture, including the agricultural industry and the import and export of agricultural products.

During the expo, He Xiaoyan, the head of an international trade company in Sichuan, visited the Pakistan National Pavilion. He inspected over a dozen varieties of rice displayed by Pakistan AMIR Rice Import & Export Company. He expressed his optimism about the agricultural resources in western China and the promising agricultural product market in Sichuan. He also highlighted the convenience of the China-Europe freight trains, which provides a strong driving force for agricultural product imports and exports in the western region of China, as they can reach many “Belt and Road” partner countries.

Chinese enterprises are hoping to boost the sales of their agricultural products in the international market through this expo.

Cui Bingqian, the deputy general manager of Zhejiang Beilai Chaxiang Biotechnology Co., Ltd., stated that to capitalize on the opportunities brought about by the Belt and Road Initiative, the company has increased its investment in product research and development. They have recently launched a new product – freeze-dried tea – specifically targeting the international market. Source

**Source**: [english.news.cn](https://english.news.cn){:target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”}