Dragon comes forward to fire up Indian economy

Caviar is on the Chinese business menu for India, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” slogan has already begun making waves in the Indian economy which is witnessing the Asian giant making a different type of incursion into Indian territory. The Chinese companies are choosing to make a beeline for India to display their products and look at merging their manufacturing businesses in India which was highlighted by over 170 manufacturers in their three-day exhibition held in Mumbai recently that comprised the China Council for Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) representing Guangdong, Ningbo, Sichuan and Wuhan, Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM).

The Chinese businesses represented various facets of industry including tools manufacturing, health, food, fertilizer, power solutions, mining, toys, leather, kitchen appliances, tyres, paints, motorbikes, architecture, agriculture products including machinery and crop seeds, mobile housing, silkworm and its products, automotive, textiles, steel, pearls,  glass, jewellery and laser tools.

Hong Kong Trade Development Council Deputy Executive Director Raymond Yip told Millennium Post that Hong Kong’s presence here was as an “autonomous region when it comes to business as we are allowed to keep our legal, finance, business and monetary (HK $) systems. Indians do not need visas to go to Hong Kong.” The first nine months of 2014 had witnessed total bilateral trade between Indian and Hong Kong at $18 billion with the exports balance being 50 per cent between both countries. 

“India-Hong Kong trade has come a long way and now India is our fourth largest market after China, USA and Japan. 10 years ago, India was nowhere on our radar screen. This sudden jump in trade is due to India’s development, growth of its middle class, government policy and the country’s market opening-up with Indian SMEs becoming more outward-looking and more prepared to view markets in the East including China and Asia. We (Hong Kong) are making quick inroads here (India) due to export growth as our exporters were earlier focused on the USA and Europe, which have been strong markets for the past 40 to 50 years and still continue to be important for us.  It is only 

in last few years that recession has stagnated Western markets which has also prompted us to look at logical emerging markets like India which are now opening up. Hong Kong is the gateway to China and East Asia and we are encouraging companies here to use our platform to explore the Chinese and East Asian markets,” Yip said.

“India is a huge market for us,” Chengdu Kanghua Biological Products Co Ltd (KANGH) Manager (Biomedicine) Hou Wenli  said while pointing out that this was his company’s first time participation in this event and had come from China to seek out Indian partners for the company’s vaccine products for treatment of Rabies and Meningitis, besides the H5N1 Influenza Vaccine and Encephalitis Vaccine.  The company’s  annual exports  stood at 300 million Chinese yuan. “The epidemic of rabies was rather serious in China before it was brought under control. Kanghua HDCV is the first human diploid cell rabies vaccine in China. We see dogs in large numbers in India and surely dog bites mostly cause rabies. Mosquitoes and other dangerous insects cause meningitis for which we have brought in the required vaccine. India is a massively-populated country like China and we are expecting to do good business here,” he said while pointing out that the company has committed over $40,000,000 towards research and development with successful results including  several research projects funded by the Chinese Government that are marketed throughout Asia, Africa, Middle East and other regions. 

China’s Runzhao Fisheries  General Manager Li Jun is introducing Indians to Chinese caviar. “Our turnover is $10 million annually with 15 tonnes of caviar produced yearly and sold in one-kilogram packs priced at between $400 to $600 (CIF) for different types of caviar. Our caviar is made from eggs of sturgeon fishes of Russian, Siberian and Kaluga species of age 8 to 12 years that are raised in spring-fed and underground flowing water farms in the counties of Pengzhou, Qingchuan (Guangyuan), Tianquan (Ya’an), Wenxian, Gansu and Chengdu.”

“We came to India as there are many wealthy buyers in this country which is developing so fast and people here have the purchasing power for such costly caviar,” said Jun, adding that alongside producing caviar from the sturgeon, this fish is used for its meat which is canned and smoked, besides consumption also of the marrow from its spine. “Sturgeons grow to a weight of 500 kgs and we export its meat to the USA, Europe and Russia, though smaller sturgeons are consumed — steamed and fried – in China. There are many sturgeon farms supplying the China market, but only three companies produce caviar, which is seasonal (Sept to March) because the roe (eggs) mature only in that period. Sturgeon roe varies in sizes, colours and taste. The best and costliest caviar is KALUGA which is green in colour.”

Jun also suggested his Chinese recipe for eating caviar and sturgeon meat. “You can eat caviar directly on biscuits or toast or bread, though if you are adding other condiments, they should not have too strong flavours which might overwhelm its taste. Caviar tastes good and goes well with champagne. Where eating sturgeon is concerned, it should be fried with black pepper, chillies, soya sauce or just smoked and consumed. My wife steams it with fermented soya bean for 15 to 20 minutes and then we eat it in Chinese tradition with rice or noodles.”

Hongya Power Generating Equipment Utilities Ltd  Business Manager Jack Shen said he was participating in this event for the second time after exporting successfully turbines like the Francis, Pelton and Turgo types to Albania, Russia, Turkey, Vietnam, Indonesia, Burma and Nepal. “Last year it was not very good for us in the power generating business, but  we have still returned here for the second time because I got a lot of queries about business. In fact I got 15 queries and though they did not translate into business, it had created awareness about my products and needed to further expand my business through connections in India.”

Bern Su from Sichaun Province of China is a first-time visitor to India and has come in with “Threshers” and “Combine Harvesters” that are capable of harvesting grains including wheat and rape seed in a safe and energy-saving manner. “India too is an agricultural country and needs such machines that are cost-effective yet sturdy. Our technology and machines ensure less 

grain loss or damage to grain or fields alongside less fuel consumption. We are introducing to the Indian market four models costing from $7,800 (minimum) to $12,000 (maximum) which are the cheapest such products in the global market as we manufacture them in Myanmar

(Burma).”