Trinidad and Tobago, through the National Export Promotion Agency, exporTT Limited is currently participating in the 5th China International Import Expo (CIIE) during the period November 5-10 2022, at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre in Shanghai, China. Participation at this event is a collaborative effort between exporTT Limited and the First Caribbean Marketing Company Limited (FCMC). The 5th CIIE serves as a platform for international procurement, investment promotion and cultural exchanges, which will be attended by approximately 145 countries.
Since 2018, the China International Import Expo (CIIE) has been recognized as the world’s first national-level import-themed exposition held in Shanghai, China with more than 1,500 new products, technologies and services launched during the previous four CIIE events. The 5th CIIE will again feature six business exhibition areas — Food and Agricultural Products, Intelligent Industry and Information Technology, Medical Equipment and Healthcare Products, Consumer Goods, Trade in Services, and Automobiles. New exhibiting zones will be opened this year, featuring the Crop Seeds industry and the Artificial Intelligence industry, while hundreds of new consumer, agricultural, technological and service products will also be launched.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Pavilion features a variety of world-class products from a number of the country’s flagship companies, including: Angostura Limited; Associated Brands Industries Limited; Chief Brand Products, Montano’s Chocolate Company; SugarCane Caribbean Products Limited; Trinidad and Tobago Fine Cocoa Company and Habanero Trinidad. These products are proudly made in Trinidad and Tobago, some of which are already sold in overseas markets, including the world-renowned Angostura Bitters, internationally awarded rums and artisanal cocoa and chocolate products made from the country’s world-famous Trinitario cocoa.
Senator the Honourable Paula Gopee-Scoon, Minister of Trade and Industry delivered virtual remarks during the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the Opening of the Pavilion on November 5th 2022. Emphasising the benefits of Trinidad and Tobago’s participation at the 5th CIIE, Minister Gopee-Scoon noted that the event serves as a platform for T&T to showcase the richness of our culture, the diversity of our people and the distinctiveness of our local products. The Mimister also highlighted the strong bilateral relationship between both countries, citing that Trinidad and Tobago was the first English-speaking Caribbean country to sign on to the Belt and Road Initiative in 2018. Since then, both countries have collaborated on a series of diverse projects and programmes across many economic sectors.
China continues to be a major trading partner in Asia for Trinidad and Tobago with imports amounting to approximately US$600 million (TT$ 4.1 billion) from China in 2021. The top items imported include: iron and steel structures; vaccines; air-conditioning machine parts and portable computers. In 2021, Trinidad and Tobago also exported US$174 million (TT$1.2 billion) of our globally renowned products to China including: methanol; aromatic bitters; and asphalt.
Trinidad and Tobago’s presence at the Expo reinforces its commitment to enhancing bilateral trading relations and deepening commercial ties with China while providing an excellent opportunity to promote trade and investment between both countries.
