China News Service, Shanghai, November 9 (Reporter Jiang Yu) "We participate in the CIIE because we hope to make high-quality products from Africa more 'visible.'" Dangbe Bernadin, an exhibitor from Benin, told a China News Service reporter at the ninth CIIE.
At a side event at the Shanghai International Import Expo 2026, Benin pineapples made their “China debut.” In 2023, Benin pineapple was unveiled at the Shanghai International Import Expo and became a "star product" with its unique sweet taste. This year, Benin pineapples entered the Chinese market through standardized and branded channels, officially completing the transformation from exhibits to commodities.
Dambe Bernardin is one of the business representatives who brought Benin pineapples to the Chinese market. He said that in the past few days since participating in the exhibition, the queue for tasting has been very long, and many buyers have already expressed their intention to cooperate.
Since May 1 this year, China has fully implemented zero tariffs on 100% of tax items with 53 African countries that have diplomatic relations with them. Dambe Bernardin believes that this preferential measure reflects China's responsibility as a major country and will definitely promote more African goods, especially high-quality agricultural products, to enter China's vast market.
Emmanuel Dzobo, a representative of the Ghana Export Promotion Agency, believes that China's tax exemption for African countries that have diplomatic relations is a vivid practice of economic and trade cooperation and mutual benefit between China and Africa, and is conducive to promoting the development of all fields in Africa.
At this year’s CIIE, Ghanaian exhibitors brought cocoa, handicrafts, gold products and other products. Shea butter and other natural and organic skin care products handmade by local women are particularly eye-catching.
"The CIIE is an excellent platform for high-quality African goods to enter the Chinese market. I learned a lot about different countries and cultures here. Through contact with exhibitors and buyers from various places, I realized that we are in a critical period of technological progress. We must make production and trading activities more diversified to adapt to the changing world situation," said Manuel Zobo.
When Ethiopian exhibitor Ejigayenu Agefn Auela heard that Shanghai had become the city with the most coffee shops in the world, he was surprised and happy.
Ethiopia is a major coffee-producing country. At this year’s CIIE, merchants from the country displayed a dazzling array of coffee products.
"Due to factors such as light, temperature, soil, etc., the taste of coffee varies greatly around the world. The floral and fruity aroma is the biggest feature of our coffee. This time we have brought coffee from various producing areas in Ethiopia, with flavors including guava, sweet pomelo, apricot, passion fruit, red grape, etc. We hope that Chinese consumers will fall in love with our coffee." Ejigayenu Agfen Awula said.
Xu Yang, general manager of the Guangzhou Commodity Exchange, said at a side event related to the Shanghai International Import Expo 2026 that China was the seventh largest coffee buyer in Ethiopia two years ago and has jumped to third this year. China is not only the coffee consumption market with the most growth potential in the world, but also the most important incremental buyer of the coffee industry in the global south.
