60 cooperators from Africa, Asia and Europe gathered in Xiamen, China to take part in the International Agricultural Produce and Agricultural Input Trade Fair and Seminar. The Trade Fair and Seminar was organized as part of the 2019 China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) and supported by the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives (ACFSMC) and the Fujian Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives (FFSMC).
Cooperators from a variety of countries congregated at the Trade Fair & Seminar in Xiamen.
CIFIT was organized to highlight cooperation among countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and facilitate investment opportunities. Covering an area of 130,000 square meters at the Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center, the fair was composed of 16 professional exhibits in three major categories: investment, business attraction and trading along the Silk Road. The Trade Fair for agricultural products from countries involved in the BRI was being organized for the first time to showcase agricultural products and to develop business opportunities. Speaking at the opening of the Trade Fair, Mr. Cai Zhenhong, VP, ACFSMC stressed on the need to strengthen cooperation among cooperatives and promote innovation given volatility in markets and competition from multiple fronts. Mr. Japheth Magomere, President, ICA-Africa representing ICA spoke of the development challenges and the importance of agriculture in improving food security and increasing income of farmers. He highlighted the three-pronged strategy in Africa for their agricultural products – promote fresh products in domestic markets, enhance intra-regional trade, and develop strategic global markets. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by ACFSMC, FFSMC, ICA Africa and ICA-Asia and Pacific to establish an investment and cooperation mechanism along the BRI countries to promote sustainable agricultural development, e-commerce and trade alliance.
The Trade Fair organized in the 8,200 square-meter exhibition hall had representation from ICA members ANGKASA, Malaysia; CACU, Zimbabwe; Central Cooperative Union, Bulgaria; Coop Hungary, COOPFED, Sri Lanka; DEKOPIN, Indonesia; Legacoop, Italy; KCCE, Kenya; NACCFL, Nepal; NAMAC, Mongolia; NH Trading, Korea; RCU, Tanzania; Sinh Duoc Herbal Cooperative, Vietnam and Tarim Kredi, Turkey. Many of the products on display had the distinct COOP logo to showcase the identity!
The Trade Fair Seminar looked at issues relating to cooperation among cooperatives and the sessions covered - Cooperation Among Cooperatives: Sharing and Challenges, Cooperative Trade in a Globalized Economy, Building Capacity for Trade among Cooperatives and Developing the Cooperative Ecosystem. The presentations touched upon C2C initiatives to promote cooperative products within and outside the country. The challenges brought to the fore at the macro level were the volatile market environment (tariffs) and inward looking policies (rising protectionism), and at the cooperative level, the lack of concrete action (yielding results) and capacity (financial, human and technical). The solutions proposed were: need to promote capacity (through training and exchanges), adopt technology, develop concrete projects (which would stand as examples) and create avenues to market (trade wing, subsidiary, tie-ups).
