Argentina is an old friend to the China International Import Expo (CIIE). The country brought its local beef, red wine, red shrimp and other products to CIIE for two consecutive years. The products were well received by domestic consumers.

Under the COVID-19 epidemic situation, CIIE exhibitors, including Argentina, have joined hands with the Greenland Global Commodity Trading Hub and have recently been promoting their goods through live broadcasts.

Pablo Agustin Obrego, consul-general of Argentina in Shanghai, and Xue Yingjie, general manager of Greenland Global Commodity Trading Hub Group, jointly promoted products from Argentina on a live broadcast on April 1.

Pablo Agustin Obrego and Xue Yingjie jointly promote products from Argentina on live broadcast on April 1. [Photo/WeChat account: scofcom]

The peak number of online viewers of the broadcast was 15,000. And in less than an hour sales had exceeded 10,000 yuan ($1,416).

The Greenland hub has cooperated mainly with CIIE national pavilions, such as Iran, Northern Europe and Syria. According to statistics, 10 live broadcasts have been carried out so far, with a total audience of over 110,000 and a peak online audience of 68,000.

After the outbreak of the epidemic, domestic importers have been rapidly adjusting their commodity import plans. In addition to focusing on expanding the import of meat products, they have also increased imports of rice, noodles, cereals, oils, meat, eggs, milk and other livelihood commodities.

Xue Yingjie believes that with the help of CIIE, domestic consumers have become somewhat dependent on imported goods in recent years. At the same time, after the outbreak, overseas manufacturers and brand owners will be more willing to embrace China and have more confidence in the consumption power of the Chinese market.