Russian specialities fuel buyers' enthusiasm at China-Russia Expo

People visit the Russian pavilion during the 8th China-Russia Expo in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, May 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Xie Jianfei)

HARBIN, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and foreign trade representatives and visitors packed out the 388,000-square meters of exhibition space at the eighth China-Russia Expo, as the expo's public open day was held Saturday in Harbin, the capital city of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

At the booth of the Amur region of the Russian Far East, a crowd of visitors inquired about the exhibitors and queued up to taste assorted sausages.

Marina Krasnova, commercial director of Serishevskiy Production Complex, kept cutting sausage samples for buyers to try while introducing the flavors of the products.

"I didn't expect that the pure-meat sausages that we brought to the export were sold out in half a day," said Krasnova.

Maksim Sirotin, head of the Amur export support center, said Russia's Amur region bordering Heilongjiang is the largest grain-producing region in the Russian Far East. Local agricultural exporters actively participated in the trade delegation to the expo to showcase specialty products, such as honey, soybean oil, and sausage. Local logistics companies also came to seek cooperation with Chinese firms.

"Our exporters brought a lot of ready-to-eat products this time. We are actually doing market research for our products at the expo to better understand the preferences of Chinese consumers. We will later adjust our product structure, research, and develop to make products more suitable for the Chinese market," said Sirotin.

The expo's activities are being held in Harbin from May 16 to 21. On the first public day, Saturday, it attracted 75,000 visitors.

At the Russian wine house booth, Eugenia Chvanova, sales and export development representative of the Abrau-Durso winery, was thrilled to sell five bottles in an hour after visitors flocked to the exhibition hall.

"This winery located near the Black Sea can trace its brewing history to 1870. However, Chinese consumers are not familiar with our brand," she said.

As visitors tried the taste of samples, she introduced in Chinese that the wine made with local grape varieties has a unique and mellow taste. The company has seven types of wine products on display, including a high-end sparkling wine priced at 300 yuan (about 41.5 U.S. dollars).

Chvanova considered herself lucky to get her job because of her Chinese language speaking skills, as the winery placed great importance on the Chinese market.

"After entering China in 2020, our wine products have appeared in five Chinese cities, including Shenzhen and Chongqing," she said.

The Russian Organic Products Promotion Center has two exhibition areas, which makes it eye-catching at the expo.

Li Yuting, representative of the Leshi Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., said the center was jointly established by the Chinese company and its Russian partners to help Russian organic products explore the Chinese market.

As a Chinese importer of bulk agricultural products, the company has found that Russian agricultural products, especially organic ones, have a good reputation in China, she said, adding that the center plans to set up special counters in China's supermarkets to sell Russian organic food.

"We know that Chinese consumers are interested in high-end agricultural products and healthy foods, such as soy milk, soy-based ice cream, etc., which is an opportunity for Russian exports of organic products," said Elena Dyadyura, deputy general director of LLC Udacha Agro, one of the Russian partners of the center.

With a theme of "cooperation, mutual trust, and opportunities," the expo is jointly hosted by China's Ministry of Commerce, the Heilongjiang Provincial Government, Russia's Ministry of Economic Development, and its Ministry of Industry and Trade.