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The chairwoman of PROCOLOMBIA, Maria Claudia Lacouture, reported that the entity she leads has made progress in the identification of the most recent consumption trends in China, which are translated into opportunities for a large variety of Colombian products.
This announcement was made after the meeting of the Minister of Trade of China Chen Deming and the Colombian Minister of Trade Sergio Díaz-Granados, who signed a memorandum of understanding established for strengthening the commercial defense mechanisms through a two-way cooperation.
" Last year, Colombia ranked in the 47th trade partner position with respect to China, there is a very high potential and we have identified the opportunities to reduce this gap" , stated Lacouture, who's entity is present in Beijing and Shanghai.
According to PROCOLOMBIA's analysis around the perspectives for Colombian exporters in the Chinese market, there are currently opportunities for the agro-industrial and manufacturing sectors, as well as for products where Colombian production is competitive.
- SPECIAL COFFEE. The demand for this product is oriented mainly towards green coffee with the " Made in Colombia" label, processed soluble coffee and lyophilized coffee.
- SUGAR AND HONEY. The expansion of the food industry in China and the demand for high priced products has generated an exponential growth of industries such as the candy, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage industries. These industries have a high demand for sugar, and China has a deficit of over 2 million tons of this product.
- DAIRY PRODUCTS. The growing housing construction in China, the increase of the middle class' purchasing power, and the increase in installation of refrigeration equipment in homes, has in turn increased the consumption of dairy products and the trend for purchasing more healthy products however the installed capacity of dairy producing Chinese companies that represent 70% of the milk supplied in the market, is not enough to cover such a demand.
The following opportunities were identified statistically by PROCOLOMBIA for the agro-industry, by sector and product:
- Processed fruit and vegetables - canned peaches
- Beverages - Juice and vegetable extracts
- Live animals - aquarium fish
- Beverages - rum and sugar cane aguardiente
- Cocoa derivatives - chocolate and candy
- GLYCEROL. Used as a solvent in different industries, hog food being one of the largest clients this sector is very dynamic in China because of the consumption of this type of meat. It is also required to manufacture different types of polyesters and used for the soap and cosmetics industry.
Other opportunities for manufacturing by Sector and Product:
- Different products in the chemicals industry - fungicides and pesticides
- Pharmaceutical products - medication
- Medicine - medical prosthetics
- Promotional articles - latex balloons
- SEMI-PROCESSED LEATHERS. 80% of the leather imported by China comes from cattle and is either processed or semi-processed. The clients in this country seek leather sheets that are larger, without cuts, marks or flaws that affect their use. According to the characteristics of Colombian leather, it is used for manufacturing male shoes, military gloves and / or work clothing and accessories.
- BATHING SUITS. Colombian bathing suit brands are being promoted in order to open the market for other Colombian apparel. PROCOLOMBIA will participate in the " Shanghai Mode Lingerie" fair, where it will have a Colombian pavilion with the six most renowned companies that manufacture bathing suits. Other opportunities identified for textiles are cotton linters, polyester and wool fabrics.
According to information from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism, during the first quarter of 2012, Colombian exports to China came up to a value of USD$1.99 billion and have exceeded those of the entire previous year, which came up to a total of USD1.98 billion.
The main non-mining subsectors, excluding coffee, exported to China between January and June, 2012 were metallurgy with USD$106.6 million, with a 74.7% share among the non-traditional total gross and processed leather with USD$15.2 million, 10.7% share, and organic chemical products $USD4.9 million, with a 3.5% share.
