Pretoria - The administration of Novosibirsk within the Siberian region of Russia has shown interest in collaborating with South Africa in the area of importing food products into the region and the city, said the Department of Trade and Industry (dti).
Novosibirsk, which has a population of about 2.8 million people and is the logistics hub of the Siberian region, also has a diversified economy consisting of 6.7% agricultural produce and livestock.
However, it still has potential for import of agricultural products, meat and wines from South Africa.
The president of the Novosibirsk Chamber of Commerce, Viatcheslav Markelove, said consumption of fruit has grown in the area. The share of wines from South Africa has grown by 1.5% in nature and 1% in value.
“Because we are a logistics hub, transportation of goods in containers is possible. Currently there are goods being transported from Cape Town to St Petersburg and from Cape Town to Vladisvostock for instance,” he said.
He said cooperation in agriculture and food was important for Novosibirsk and South Africa.
The leader of the South African delegation, Yunus Hoosen, said he was pleased with the reception from the government of Novosibirsk.
“The government in Novosibirsk has shown a lot of interest in our products especially fruits, meat and wines. They demonstrated their excitement by organising appropriate businesses who are potential buyers to meet with our delegation and facilitate links,” said Hoosen on Sunday.
He said government was working tirelessly to ensure that the labelling protocols are finalised to ensure that South African businesses can start exporting the products immediately to take advantage of opportunities in the market.
The Ambassador of South Africa to Russia, Mandisi Mpahlwa, and officials from the dti met with the Governor of Novosibirsk region, Vladimir Gorodetsky, and Novosibirsk Deputy Mayor Andrey Ksendzov to discuss areas of cooperation with regards to South Africa and Novosibirsk.
This was part of the 6th Investment and Trade Initiative (ITI). The week-long ITI kicked off on Monday with investment seminars, business-to-business meetings with potential importers and visits to various business sites to learn how Russians conduct their business. – SAnews.gov.za
