Chongqing- From September 5 to 8, a total of 50 China-Singapore cooperative enterprises participated in the FHA-Food & Beverage 2022, making it the first time for the exhibition of agricultural products to take place overseas since the outbreak of COVID-19.

Serving as the first overseas promotion meeting for the China-Singapore Connectivity Project in Singapore, the event promotes cooperation between western China and the ASEAN countries.

Agricultural brands go abroad

"China-ASEAN trade has seen a leapfrog development over the years," said Zhong Manying, Economic & Commercial Minister Counsellor, Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Singapore, at the promotion meeting of China-Singapore (Chongqing) F&B Suppliers: Global Expansion Program. "Bilateral trade has bucked the trend since the epidemic, and the ASEAN has been China's largest trade partner in goods for the past two years where agricultural trade is an instrumental part."

The Global Expansion Program started last year, attracting 200 agricultural product enterprises from Chongqing, western China, Singapore, and other ASEAN countries to expand trade in agricultural specialties.

"Three agricultural processing enterprises in Chongqing and Singapore have expanded overseas since the program was launched, and China-Singapore agricultural cooperation continues to develop," said an official from the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity Administrative Bureau (CCIB). "The production process belonging to Lalaishi, Yome, and other food enterprises has been upgraded and has received the certification of the German TÜV."

He said that agricultural cooperation between China and Singapore injects new energy into rural revitalization.

Chongqing enterprises deepen cooperation with the ASEAN

According to the Signing Ceremony of China-Singapore(Chongqing), F&B Suppliers, Chongqing enterprises, and the ASEAN signed online contracts with a total value of 100 million yuan (about 14.4 million U.S. dollars).

Chongqing flavors occupied the promotion site, and the recommended products include enzyme drinks from Chongqing Puzhen, hot and sour rice noodles from Dezhuang, and dried noodles from Lalaishi. This event will create more opportunities for businesses in western China and ASEAN.

FHA-Food & Beverage (FHA) is Asia's largest food & beverage trade event featuring the most wide-ranging top and trending F&B products and innovations from all over the world. A total of 2,696 exhibitors participated in the FHA this year from 68 countries, including China, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, and more.

Normalized supply of agricultural products

Before this, many businesses could expand overseas through the Global Expansion Program.

Chongqing-Singapore enterprises jointly established Yumaotong in 2021, becoming strategic partners with NTUC, Singapore's biggest supermarket chain.

Fresh vegetables from Chengdu and Chongqing are directly shipped to Singapore for several cabinets, bringing Chongqing specialty foods, such as Yunyang chrysanthemum and Huida Lemon, to RCEP countries.

According to Data, Yumaotong exported agricultural products worth 114 million yuan from 2021 to August this year. In FHA 2022, Yumaotong brought 32 enterprises and more than 100 kinds of products from western China.

In addition, Trustana, a Singapore-based B2B platform of verified food traders, has launched a project to provide one-stop export services for 100 Chinese food suppliers within three years, helping suppliers establish a complete qualification and certification system.

Trustana is optimistic about the rapidly expanding global market for spicy food and has partnered with ten Chinese manufacturers to bring Chinese-flavored food to Singapore.

These examples illustrate the effectiveness of the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Agricultural Cooperation Program. With the Program, Chongqing's unique agricultural products, such as Zhongxian oranges, Yunyang chrysanthemums, and Tongnan lemons, are regularly supplied to Singapore and Southeast Asian markets.

This summer, Wushan crispy plums went abroad for the first time, relying on the Program through land and air transport, becoming a hot-selling in Singapore.