Development financier, the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC), is sponsoring seven local companies to exhibit at the 30-month permanent international Ningbo trade fair in China, in an effort to secure a greater share of the national export market to the east.

Located north-east of China’s Zhejiang province, Ningbo is the largest seaport in the Asian country and the second-largest in the world and is a vital corridor in China’s import and export market.

The ECDC said in a statement on Monday that, between January and July 2012, $500-million worth of imported agroprocessed products, including wine, milk, fruit and seafood, were transported through the Ningbo harbour.

As the first South African organisation to exhibit at the fair, the ECDC was hoping that the R2-million investment would generate opportunities for Eastern Cape companies to access the large Chinese consumer market.

The investment would ensure an exhibition platform for the seven businesses, which operated in the agriculture, agroprocessing and manufacturing sectors and were based in East London, Port Elizabeth and Grahamstown.

The companies participating at the exhibition were East London-based Oceanwise, Gaehlercorr Industries and Superfecta Berries; Port Elizabeth-based Momentos of Africa and Mendabath; and Grahamstown-based Carara and Makana Meadery.

The United States Food Industry Association forecast Chinese imported and exported food sales to grow by 15% year-on-year and that, by 2018, China would become the world’s largest consumer of imported and exported food, with the Chinese domestic market for imported food expected to reach up to $480-billion.

“Ningbo, therefore, presents immense opportunities for the Eastern Cape, as it could serve as a channel for [the province’s] products to larger markets in China and the rest of the world. Our long-term view is to attract investment from China and boost employment creation in the province by acquiring long-term contracts and new investment,” explained ECDC market access unit member Zodwa Kepeyi.

The ECDC identified Ningbo as a suitable location after it completed several trade missions in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry to Chinese cities such as Beijing, Hong Kong and Xaimen.

New opportunities in emerging markets presented by the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, or Brics, collaboration were also a major focus for the ECDC.

Kepeyi said that, while the automotive sector remained the province’s leading export contributor, there had been steady growth in sectors such as agroprocessing, energy and general manufacturing.

Figures from the previous financial year indicated that 40% of total provincial exports were in the auto sector, but that, encouragingly, exports for agroprocessing accounted for 29%.

Sectors sitting at the lower end of the export spectrum were clothing and textiles at 9%, energy at 9%, general manufacturing at 6%, medical at 3% and security at 1% of overall provincial exports.