By Wu Siya

 

BEIJING, Nov. 27 (China Economic Net)– “As you can see, we brought many Rwandan specialty products to this expo, especially coffee, pepper and tea, as well as a new product, honey, all of which are so popular in China,” H. E. James Kimonyo, Ambassadors of Rwanda to China, told in an exclusive interview with China Economic Net (CEN) at the ongoing 2nd China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE).

 

 

The ambassador stressed that these products have quickly gained popularity through Chinese e-commerce platforms, such as Taobao and Tmall. With the help of digital technology, Rwandan companies have access to China, the world’s second largest market, in a simpler way than traditional methods, giving local farmers more opportunities to sell high-quality products, which is mainly due to the support plans formulated by the Chinese government. preferential policies for African countries are highly inclusive, allowing African countries, including Rwanda, to make full use of China's huge market.

 

Data shows that Rwanda’s specialty products have repeatedly become “hot items” in China, which is inseparable from the in-depth cooperation between the two countries in the field of digitalization in the past few years. As early as 2018, Alibaba Group and the Rwandan government signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly build Africa’s first Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) pilot. A large number of Rwandan high-quality products have also entered the Chinese market through cross-border e-commerce and other platforms.

 

 

 

“What does open up the supply chain mean to us? Our farmers work hard to produce high-quality coffee beans, but if good products don’t have a good market, nothing will change. Now, with the help of cross-border e-commerce platforms, China’s vast market has opened its doors to Africa, and farmers’ products could be sold at more satisfactory prices, and their income will be greatly increased,” the ambassador pointed out. “As you can see, a large number of Chinese buyers stopped in front of our booth to skillfully selected products, because most of them have tried it on Chinese e-commerce platforms or have had trade with our companies. If you ask me, this is the meaning of the supply chain.”

 

In the exhibition area, in addition to fragrant coffee beans, the reporter also tasted the Rwandan chili sauce. The mellow taste is slightly different from the Chinese chili, but the same spicy taste stimulates the taste buds quickly.

 

E-commerce makes it possible to sell 3,000 bags of Rwandan coffee in one second. As the first country in Africa to join the eWTP, according to a recent report released by the African Development Bank, Rwanda’s GDP is expected to grow by 8% in 2024, leading the East African countries.

 

“In the future, we will see more African brands entering the Chinese market. Take Rwanda as an example, next year we will launch more new products including avocados. We are working closely with many Chinese companies investing in Africa to further enhance local productivity in order to further open up sales in the Chinese market,” Ambassador Kimonyo revealed future plans. It is encouraging that more high-quality food will soon cross mountains and seas and appear on the tables of Chinese consumers.