Not everyone, it seems, was on the streets in Hong Kong these past weeks. The 30th Food Expo, 11th Hong Kong International Tea Fair, 4th Beauty & Wellness Expo and the 6th Home Delights Expo, all organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), passed off successfully, attracting over 440,000 visitors and 2,000 exhibitors for the 2019 editions.
The International Conference of the Modernisation of Chinese Medicine & Health Products (ICMCM) jointly organised by the HKTDC and the Modernised Chinese Medicine International Association was also held successfully.
Benjamin Chau, Deputy Executive Director of the HKTDC, said: “Despite the social incidents seen in Hong Kong in recent months, the four fairs organised by the HKTDC in August, together with the ICMCM, all ran smoothly. Global exhibitors and buyers still view our tradefairs as important one-stop trading platforms for sourcing and business promotion. To connect more exhibitors and buyers, we enhanced the business-matching service at the Trade Hall of the Food Expo and at the Hong Kong International Tea Fair, both of which targeted trade professionals. The Trade Hall attracted nearly 18,000 buyers, including significant numbers from Mainland China and emerging markets such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Poland and Thailand.”
The California State Trade Expansion Program (California STEP) brought 12 food companies from the US to exhibit at this year's Food Expo, a stronger presence than in previous years.
California STEP Director Jeffrey Williamson said: “We have met with a lot of buyers from Hong Kong and Mainland China who expressed keen interest in our products. Our participating companies feel positive about the new business opportunities they’ve been able to explore here. We have not been affected by the recent social incidents that happened in Hong Kong.”
Visiting the Tea Fair for the first time was Tai Tai Health Products (Changzhou) International Group, a health tea manufacturer in Mainland China with annual sales of Rmb300m. Xu Ming, the company's General Manager, noted the strong demand for slimming tea and detoxification tea in the mainland. “I have found a number of potential suppliers from India, Laos and Mainland China at the fair. We plan to buy US$1m worth of black tea from an Indian supplier which can help us to provide quality products at competitive prices.”
Photo caption: The Hong Kong International Tea Fair attracted more than 250 exhibitors from nine countries and regions, with 13 group pavilions presenting tea cultures from around the world.
