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Strategies & Market Trends : China Warehouse- More Than Crockery -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (3011)	3/31/2004 6:07:30 PM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6370

Teasing China's taste buds AP Wednesday, March 31, 2004 SHANGHAI Purveyors of just about everything from salami to tequila are flocking to China's vast market as tariffs fade on imported foods. . Different countries can find common ground in the love of good food, said Franz Fischler, the European Union farm commissioner, opening a food industry fair Tuesday that drew hundreds of foreign companies. . Many were newcomers hoping that Beijing's membership in the World Trade Organization will bring fresh opportunities for urban China's increasingly sophisticated appetites. . "The discovery of a new dish does more for the happiness of mankind than the discovery of a new star," Fischler said, borrowing from Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, a 19th-century French food critic. . Decades of doing business in free ports like Hong Kong and Singapore, and in wealthy Japan, have whetted the appetite of the world's food and beverage exporters for business in the world's most populous nation. . "China is a sort of blank spot for us; it's kind of annoying," said Evelin Sala, export manager for the German company EBM Euro-Bavaria, which exports cheeses and other dairy products - but so far supplies only one Shanghai-based chain of foreign-foods stores. . "We've been selling to Japan for 30 years, but Chinese still have to get used to eating cheese," Sala said. Chinese restaurants have become fixtures in all but the tiniest towns in Europe and America, and McDonald's and KFC are now household names even in smaller Chinese cities. But finer foreign delicacies are scarce in China, outside the few grocery stores and restaurants catering to foreigners. That is due to trade barriers like import taxes - and limits on the purchasing power and adventurousness of a nation with its own proud culinary heritage. . Still, plateloads of Sala's ham- and paprika-studded cheese chunks were vanishing before her, devoured by a hungry pre-lunch crowd. Cheese may not appeal to all Chinese, but it may be sneaking into local tastes in the guise of cheeseburgers and pizza. . "That kind of red cheese, the one that tastes moldy, that's not much to my liking," said Gao Lizhong, a trading company employee who sampled a few chunks. "This is mild. It's fine." . As part of China's market-opening pledges for joining the WTO, average taxes on many food imports have fallen from more than 30 percent to just over 10 percent. . "Give me one reason why we should not be here," said Teodoro Rittscher Rendon, a sales executive for Iidea, a tequila company based in Tlaquepaque, Mexico. He is seeking a local distributor. . "Japan is a small market for us," he said. "China as a region is very important." . Makers of provolone, salami and Champagne may base their brands on centuries-old identities, but companies that are less tradition-bound are eager to adapt their products to local tastes. . Olives can be marketed the old-fashioned way, pickled with pimentos, or can be livened up with pepper seeds or fortified with nutrient-rich soya or Omega-3, said Daniel Paya, export manager for the Spanish olive processor El Serpis. . "We are always looking to introduce new novelties," he said. . "These sweet vinegars were a big hit in Tokyo," said Martin Bem, Asia-Pacific representative for the Italian company Collina Toscana, as he pointed to a series of golden and burgundy-colored bottles of balsamic lemon and fruited vinegars. . "The Chinese don't like them because they say they're too sweet, but they seem to really like the spicy ones," he said, turning a bottle to show its chili-laden contents. "A major reason to be here is to get a little understanding of the taste buds of China." . The Associated Press iht.com