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Exhibition economy set to boost international trade

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-15 09:07

Urumqi: China has built a reputation as one of the world's great exporters, but for the country to look at exporting Muslim food to Muslim countries might still be considered ambitious. This, however, seems to have become a reality as the Xinjiang-based Mayflower Restaurant Group launches its first ever Muslim main course at a trade fair in Saudi Arabia this month.

The dish, an instant rice pilaf, will be unveiled at the 14th International Event for Food, Beverages & Catering, Hotel Equipment, Supplies and Services on May 24 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Pulati Wushouer, manager of the Mayflower Restaurant Group, is optimistic about its chances for success: "I can already foresee hundreds of orders flying back."

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The emphasis Pulati puts on the importance of trade fairs reflects their growing significance to the development of Xinjiang, an autonomous region in northwestern China.

Malina Jianabuer, deputy director-general of the Xinjiang foreign trade department said: "Domestic and international exhibitions, as well as the entire exhibition economy, will play an important role in fighting against the economic slowdown this year."

Exhibition economy is seen as a new kind of economic form that has a number of distinct benefits, including contacts, information and technology exchange. It also provides a domestic and international stage for suppliers and buyers.

According to Zeng Suohuai, deputy director of the department, exhibitions, such as the annual foreign trade fair in Urumqi, have helped promote the development of foreign trade to a huge extent.

In a bid to promote Xinjiang as a leading regional trade center for Central Asia, Urumqi has staged the foreign trade fair from Sep 1 to 5 every year since 1992.

The total value of contracts signed at the fair last year reached $3.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of nearly 40 percent. According to the fair's official website, this represented a new high for the event.

The total value of cross-border exports and imports reached $17.6 billion, accounting for nearly 80 percent of the region's total foreign trade value last year, according to statistics supplied by the department.

Zeng said: "Holding exhibitions is an effective way to boost imports and exports, especially during the current economic downturn."

In the first quarter of this year, the total value of exports and imports in the autonomous region fell to $2.7 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 21.8 percent.

Commenting on the figures, Jianabuer said: "Maybe this is why so many local companies are showing increased interest in exhibitions this year, as a result we have done a great deal to improve our own exhibition services and facilities."

One such effort is the construction of the Xinjiang International Exhibition Center in Urumqi. Operational as of 2010, the facility has received an investment of more than 1.1 billion yuan and will open with a floor space of 200,000 sq m.

Speaking of the looming completion of the exhibition center, Wushouer, the manager of Mayflower said: "I'd like to be able to showcase our products, including the rice pilaf, during exhibitions here. It would be great to promote our dishes to the world without going abroad."

Until then, he's content to load up his 500 boxes of Mayflower instant pilaf rice and jet off to Saudi Arabia on May 18.