Egyptian-Chinese business partnerships strongly manifested in Cairo's largest agricultural expo

People visit a booth of Shansung Company, a Chinese heavy equipment producing firm, featuring wheel loaders, during the International Agricultural Exhibition for Africa and the Middle East in Cairo, Egypt, on Sept. 13, 2021. Egyptian-Chinese business partners presenting a variety of agricultural products and machinery stood out among exhibitors at the 33rd edition of Egypt's largest annual expo Sahara, the International Agricultural Exhibition for Africa and the Middle East. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

CAIRO, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian-Chinese business partners presenting a variety of agricultural products and machinery stood out among exhibitors at the 33rd edition of Egypt's largest annual expo Sahara, the International Agricultural Exhibition for Africa and the Middle East.

Although Chinese exhibitors did not attend the expo in person because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a vast 300-square-meter Chinese hybrid pavilion attracted a lot of visitors during the four-day exhibition concluded on Wednesday.

The exhibition manager Rania Salah el-Din told Xinhua that organizers provided Chinese booths with Zoom links, laptops, receptionists and translators to allow interested Egyptian customers to communicate with Chinese exhibitors in China.

By handing out brochures and posters to buyers and visitors, Chinese companies have made several deals during the past few days, the manager said, adding that there is even one Chinese company which held 18 virtual meetings with Egyptian buyers in one day.

Under the auspices of the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Sahara Expo 2021 attracted 150 exhibiting companies, mainly from Egypt, China, Russia, Italy, the Netherlands, Jordan and Lebanon.

"At least 30 of the exhibiting companies are from China, marking a strong participation from China this year despite the current conditions," Salah el-Din said.

Several Egyptian farmers gathered around two adjacent booths featuring agricultural tractors manufactured by Chinese companies Shandong Shifeng Group Co., Ltd and Shandong Wuzheng Group Co., Ltd.

Essam Tawfik, sales manager of Egyptian company Dolphin Import &Export, an agent for Shifeng Group, said that Chinese tractors have been popular in the Egyptian market in the early 2000s, noting that his company has been in partnership with Shifeng Group for 19 years.

"The advantage of Chinese tractors is that their spare parts are available in all Egyptian provinces and at affordable prices. We also offer our customers distinguished and swift services in terms of maintenance, guarantee and spare parts," Tawfik added.

In another booth, Egyptian company Accelero Agrochemicals displayed a variety of agrochemicals manufactured by its Chinese partner U-Choice Industry Co., Ltd.

"We support the Egyptian market with plant growth regulators and provide Egyptian fertilizer companies and factories with relevant effective material from China," said Abdel-Rahman Hegazi, the technical consultant of Accelero Agrochemicals, Egypt's agent for U-Choice Group.

Hegazi described China as "a key manufacturer of agrochemicals in the world," adding that over 90 percent of the agrochemicals in Egypt came from China.

Meanwhile, a group of representatives of Chinese agrochemical company Rainbow was taking a tour as visitors to explore the market needs as part of the company's strategy to develop its business in North Africa.

"We've come here to do the market research and I think it is a good chance in the exhibition here to try to know more about the market and talk with different customers," Lynn Zhang, a chief regional representative of Rainbow, told Xinhua.

Being held at Egypt International Exhibition Center on Sept. 12-15, the expo is sponsored by a number of Egyptian national banks and investors, including the Agricultural Bank of Egypt (ABE).

Sami Abdel-Sadek, ABE deputy chairman for business development, said that Chinese products and technologies are basic parts of the agricultural development in Egypt.

"In the coming stage, we would like to localize these technologies via Egyptian-Chinese cooperation," the official told Xinhua, hoping for future cooperation between the agricultural banks of Egypt and China.