Philippines firms book $125 million sales from China expo

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine firms generated $124 million worth of sales from the China International Import Expo (CIIE) held in Shanghai last week, well above the government’s $50 million target.

During the same event, Country Garden Group, one of China’s biggest property developers, also expressed interest to expand operations in the country.

In a statement, the Department of Trade and Industry said $108 million worth of sales were generated from orders for agricultural products such as bananas, avocados and oranges, while $16 million worth of direct sales were made from exhibitors which took part in the expo held from Nov. 5 to 10.

“The figures exceeded our target sales for this participation, which was $50 million. But Philippine products, known to be of quality to foreign buyers, received overwhelming approval at CIIE,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said.

A total of 57 Philippine exhibitors took part in the CIIE to feature products and services including snacks, alcoholic beverages, coconut, mango, nuts, chocolates, coffee, cosmetics, baby care, electronic products, automotive products, culinary tour packages, as well as franchising and education services.

With the positive result seen in the participation at the CIIE, the DTI intends to bring a bigger delegation next year.

 In particular, Lopez said the DTI would want to secure 100 booths and to double sales for next year.

The Philippines initially requested for 150 booths in this year’s CIIE, but it was unable to secure all booths due to strong interest from various countries and firms to take part of the event and limited available space.

On the sidelines of the CIIE, Country Garden’s general manager Wang Xingjun expressed interest  to partner with Filipino property developers to expand the Country Garden and Rise Land brands in the country.

The company plans to open hotels, as well as offer middle-class and affordable residential properties.

Wang also said the firm is interested in opportunities in the areas of construction and building materials.

Country Garden is engaged in property development, construction, decoration, property management, property investment, as well as hotel development and management.