International Commodity Fair was successfully held in Moscow

Consumer goods exposition, business program, market analysis and B2B negotiations
International Commodity Fair 2021 took place at the IEC Expocentre on November 10-12, 2021 becoming an important platform for the development of trade cooperation between China and Russia once again.

Prospects for Russian-Chinese trade cooperation in new conditions

"China remains the largest trading partner of Russia for 11 years in a row, and Russia is the 10th largest trading partner of China," said Minister Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Russia Li Jinyuan. He also expressed the hope that the event will provide additional support for the promotion of Chinese brands in Russia.



Exposition

This year, 150 participants presented their best solutions onsite. More than 100 of them were companies from the largest manufacturing provinces of China – Shandong and Zhejiang, while the rest of participants were Russian export-oriented companies from various regions of the country. The main sections of the exhibition were interior lifestyle, kids' products and toys, gifts and souvenirs, household appliances, food and drinks.

Traditionally, service companies specializing in foreign economic activity became a part of the exposition. Each visitor and exhibitor may seek assistance from the representatives of the Consultation Center for advice on logistics, customs clearance and other aspects of cooperation with international partners. The total area of the exhibition accounted for 4 000 square meters, and the number of visitors – over 5 000 people.

National Chinese Trade Fair for Quality Consumer Goods

The 5th Trade Fair for Quality Consumer Goods – China Commodity Fair – ran this year as a part of the project. Despite current epidemiological situation and, therefore, the difficulties of foreign participation, the key players of consumer goods market of China still pleased the visitors with the presentations of their products at the exhibition.

Soton Daily Necessities, one of the world's largest manufacturers of drinking straws and disposable tableware; Zhejiang Newcomer Bags – a luggage manufacturer whose products are exported to more than 30 countries and regions and a toy manufacturer Yiwu Yanrui Arts & Crafts that cooperates with the well-known brands including Barbie and Disney were among the key exhibitors of China Commodity Fair 2021.

Brand Zone: innovative technologies from China

In addition to the factories focused on OEM and ODM production, more than 70 tech brands from China, such as Honor, Haier, Hisense, Midea, Galanz, ZTE, Jimmy and others took part at the exhibition. In a specially organized section – Brand Zone – the visitors could explore the latest developments of electronics and home appliances by the best Chinese manufacturers as well as discuss the terms of beneficial cooperation with companies' representatives right onsite.

This section of the exhibition drew special attention of the visitors, since Russia consumer demand for household appliances and electronics produced in China is growing every year.

Official events

The first day of the exhibition, November 10, began with the opening ceremony of the Brand Zone that was held in a hybrid format for the first time. The guests of the exhibition were greeted by Minister Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Russia Li Jingyuan; Deputy Director of the Department for the Development of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Commerce Chen Huaming; President of China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products Zhang Yujing, Director of the International Cooperation Department of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russian Federation Alexander Kopkov and Deputy Director of the Department of Commerce of Shandong Province Lu Wei.


"Trends in the consumer goods market" Conference

Following the grand opening of the Brand Zone, "Trends in the consumer goods market" Conference took place. The representatives of such companies as Midea, Honor, ZTE, AliExpress Russia, GFK, Wholesale Centre "Moskwa" and Checkbox presented deep market analysis highlighting the trends, current issues and forecasts.

The flexibility of business processes helped to avoid a turnover drop in the time of epidemiological restrictions, said the head of the marketing department of Midea Daria Tolstova. "Online, like for many companies, is a strategic direction for us. And the latest retail restrictions have boosted the growth of the online sales share causing the company's online turnover increase at the same time." The expert believes that the positions of Chinese manufacturers in Russian market are strengthening every year because business is ready to offer the consumer a high-quality product at an affordable price.
The same trend Stanislav Pugachev, the Head of Galanz Russia (Guangdong Galanz Enterprise Group Co., Ltd.), had noted: "People buy new household appliances not only because of necessity, but also because they want to have updated and improved versions."

Compared to the last year, the demand for large and small household appliances in Russia increased by 18% and 20% respectively. Particularly, as for computer equipment, – by 7%, GFK representative Natalia Morzhova told.

"Practice of Trade Cooperation" International Forum

"Practice of Trade Cooperation" International Forum dedicated to the issues of foreign economic activity and doing business with foreign partners was held in the 5th time this year as a part of ICF 2021. "Export to China in a pandemic" and "Export and import. Logistics. Certification" session, which took place on the first day of the show, revealed all aspects of trade cooperation and doing business with China. Practitioners shared their experience and algorithms for entering the market, as well as the nuances of work with Chinese partners in the difficult time of pandemic restrictions.
On the second day, a panel discussion "Marketplaces: a new round of Russian business" united e-commerce experts with representatives of sellers. Speakers from UPMARKET, AliExpress Russia and entrepreneurs from RIVACASE and MioBrush discussed the steps of entering marketplaces, the future of e-commerce and finding a niche, as well as shared the success stories and answered the questions of the audience. As session moderator Susanna Uraeva noted, over the previous year the marketplace sales have increased by 58%, and this trend continues in 2021.
Everyone participated in the discussion agreed that over the past two years buyers got used to make both planned and spontaneous online purchases, so the marketplaces became a new must-have distribution channel for all spheres of business, including B2B promotion.
Alena Shvetsova, strategic marketing practitioner, told the audience about the possibilities of modern retail in China and the export of food. Additionally, the experts discussed the topics of commercial risks when working with China, creating a trademark and the features of brand adaptation in China. Then, together with Anna Fomicheva, vice-president of the Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RAUIE), the audience analyzed the latest trends in foreign economic activity and changes in customs control. The business program was concluded with a discussion of transport cooperation between China and Russia in the post-COVID era.
More than 30 expert speakers took part in the Forum this year: Anna Fomicheva (RAUIE), Alena Shvetsova (SKYLEX GROUP), Susanna Uraeva (UPMARKET), Serafima Bykanova (AliExpress Russia), Irina Epifanova (Business Panda), Alexey Sapetko (Ministry of Transport) and other specialists.