Representatives of Chinese food companies and local importers are interested in Montenegrin products presented at the China and Central Eastern Europe (CEE) EXPO, and the Chinese are also attracted by the tourist offer of Montenegro.
Yan Chunyu, co-founder of the Montenegrin International Economic Cooperation Association – MIECA, said that at this year’s EXPO China – CIE, two stands of products and tourist offers from Montenegro were presented.
She explained that one booth is located in the Agricultural Products and Food Zone, and the other is located in the Tourism Zone, according to China Media Group correspondent Yu Xi. “We can say that it is a record representation of Montenegro in the history of EXPO China – CIE,” said Yan.
Since 2021, Yan and her company, registered in Tivat, have managed to organize Montenegrin companies and manufacturers to present their products at EXPO China – CIE, the largest fair in China intended to strengthen trade ties between China and the countries of Central Eastern Europe.
Yan said that this year, 12 Montenegrin companies and agencies, coordinated by MIECE, were presented at the EXPO, which was organized in the Chinese city of Ningbo.
“This time we brought agricultural products from Montenegro, such as honey, organic vegetables, nuts, cakes and meat products from Podgorica, Budva, Tivat and other municipalities. The tourist offer is from local tourist organizations of certain municipalities in Montenegro, especially from the hotel industry,” said Yan. This year, the EXPO organizers created the Tourism Zone in order to promote the tourist offer of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe on the Chinese market.
“Tourism is the leading activity of Montenegro. Due to our promotion, several Montenegrin agencies, organizations and tour operators found out about EXPO China – CIE and confirmed their presence through our coordination. Everyone expects the arrival of a larger number of Chinese tourists and says they will be fully prepared in terms of food, accommodation and traffic,” said Yan.
She added that visitors and suppliers are most interested in food from Montenegro, such as honey, fruit jam or coffee, because the most important thing for them is that the food is healthy and natural.
“Food from Montenegro is exactly the right choice, natural and pollution-free,” said Yan.
The Chinese also showed great interest in the tourist booth.
“Montenegro’s tourist offer is attractive to the Chinese. “Not only tourist agencies approached us for cooperation, but also many citizens, that is, ordinary tourists, who said they were interested in traveling to Montenegro,” said Yan.
EXPO China – CIE will be open until Saturday, and according to Yan, many have tentatively agreed to cooperate on certain projects.
She said that in the Agricultural Products and Food Zone, representatives of food companies from Chinese Hong Kong and local importers from Ningbo showed interest in Montenegrin products and announced that they would agree on the details after the EXPO.
“As far as tourism is concerned, we had a conversation with representatives in charge of tourism from the Administration of Commerce of China’s northern Liaoning Province and we have agreed on further discussions. Experienced travel agency Happy Tour has also established cooperation with MIECA,” said Yan. For the first time, EXPO China – CIE is not held online, as was the case during the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s a wonderful atmosphere, we clearly felt and saw the enthusiasm of Chinese consumers. We would be happy to help as many Montenegrin companies as possible to enter the Chinese market and to be known by Chinese consumers. We expect even more Chinese tourists to decide on Montenegro and we hope that there will be more and more of them in Montenegro,” concluded Yan.
