Croatian Companies Satisfied at the Fair in China

Following the successful recent debut of Croatian companies at the consumer goods fair in the Chinese city of Ningbo, the co-organizer of this appearance, the Agency for Promotion of Exports and Investments (APIU), will consider the invitation from the Chinese side to open a Croatian economic representative office in that city, announced APIU director Sandi Ljubunčić at today’s press conference.

This would serve as a presentation house for Croatian products, for which the Chinese showed great interest at the fair, and for što until 2102, they are offering almost free exhibition and storage space, added Ljubunčić at the conference attended by representatives of the exhibiting companies at the fair in Ningbo. At this fair, held from June 8 to 11, Croatia was represented by a total of 45 companies (21 directly at the booths and 24 indirectly through representatives), which is also the largest previous appearance of Croatian entrepreneurs at a fair in distant countries or fast-growing markets. APIU has included Brazil, India, China, and Russia in these markets, and according to Ljubunčić, they will continue to explore opportunities for the appearance and promotion of Croatian companies in all these countries.

For the Chinese city of Ningbo and the province in which it is located, it was noted at the conference that they are developing and much less saturated than, for example, Šangaj and Beijing, and as such are more suitable for Croatian and other European products, which the Chinese are very fond of. In addition to APIU, the participation of Croatian companies at this fair was also supported by the Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK) and the Ministry of Economy, with an estimated support of 330 thousand kuna so far, and significant assistance also came from the Chinese who provided free booths at the fair. Representatives of the exhibiting companies, including those from Nemec Arta, Aquarius Group, Apipharma, Telluris-Medin, Antaris, and Badel 1862, are grateful for the support for this appearance, and as they stated, they wish to repeat it because it is not enough to just go to China once. They have established numerous new business contacts, all hoping for business opportunities, and the only one among them that has been operating in that market for two years, Badel 1862, believes in its further penetration into that market. (H)