China – Focus on a Growing Market – Part 1 – a special perspective

Ms. Ma Chunyan opens the event

China means different things to different people. Maybe the spectacle of the Olympic ceremonies or perhaps the economy now known as The World’s Factory. Many International Pest Control subscribers and readers may have already visited the country that will become the world’s largest economy sometime during the next decade, but for many more in our industry, China is an unknown quantity. Is this a market we should understand better as a potential for our products or services? Where and how to start? How to understand more, where to go for advice? It could even be that we are a little scared! The culture, the language, the business practice are all different to our Western understanding.

The massive and highly professional CAC Agrochem Show, held each spring in Shanghai, presented the opportunity to learn more for a group of Westerners that comprised representatives from our publishers, Research Information Ltd. IPC technical consultant Rob Fryatt, contributors Peter May and Rod Parker and advertiser Dr. Peter McEwen.

Below they share some of their thoughts and experiences of the event, and of China itself. The CAC Agrochem Show is without doubt the largest global event in the Agrochemical calendar.   With a trade exhibition of over 750 booths, attended by in excess of 20,000 delegates and a series of conferences where delegates are numbered in hundreds.

The CAC Agrochem Show is held each spring in Shanghai

The event has taken place for a number of years at the Shanghai Everbright Centre and Hotel. The majority of the exhibitors and delegates are from China, but the number of international delegates, exhibitors and confer- ence speakers grows steadily each year.

For Ras Patel, from Research Information Limited, the publishers of International Pest Control, this was his second  visit  to  China.  “To  visit  an event of this scale is quite daunting” he commented.  “We  were  fortunate  that the pre-planning had been done by the members of our delegation experienced in China and had visited the exhibition before. As a result we were not just wandering the exhibition floors looking for companies we recognized or trying to find people who could communicate in English. The team had an interpreter and a letter of introduction in Mandarin from the organizers which helped to get the right people quickly”.

What did Ras gain from the experience? “It is clear there is a thirst for knowledge and information as well as a commercial spirit to “do business”. For Research Information there is a market for our publications, without doubt, but we need to understand a lot more before we could make any commitments. This was an important first step”. Finally he added “As the official pub- lication for FAOPMA  (Federation of Oceanic and Asian Pest Management Associations)  it  is  important we are able to support its members such as the Chinese Pest Control Association and report on their progress and activity. This event presented such an opportunity”.

Peter May is based in Brisbane, Australia and has been visiting China for many years. “I had been aware of the CAC event before I was invited to speak at the Beyond Agriculture seminar, but this gave me the opportunity to attend. It was encouraging to see faces I knew from Australia, such as the De Groot Technical Services team, with Gavin Hall presenting on the Australian regulatory system at the main conference”. As a direct result of visiting, Peter is now involved in collaboration with De Groot Technical Services in assisting the CAC organizers in staging an event in Australia, aimed at promoting expanded business dealings between the two countries. Peter commented “Building strong and long term relationships is critical to working with Chinese companies and organizations”.

Peter McEwen signs the visitor wall

The Beyond Agriculture seminar was the main reason for Rod Parker (Agricultural  Information  Services) to attend. For Rod, this was the third CAC event and the second Beyond Agriculture seminar. “It gets easier each year as more  and  more  people recognize you. The partnership through our Beyond Agriculture seminars with the CCPIT Sub Council for Chemicals is helping us to meet key industry influencers, both at the main event and in individual private meetings. Each year the number of overseas delegates and exhibiting companies has grown. There is no doubt that the improving English language skills of the leading Chinese companies is helping to make meetings more meaningful and productive”.

Dr. Peter McEwen, CEO of i2L Research Limited, a leading contract research organization focused on Beyond Agriculture markets, added: “I don’t think I would have attended if I had not had the opportunity to be involved in the Beyond Agriculture Seminar. This meant I could present through simultaneous translation to leading companies about the value of a CRO and use my company as an example. In addition, I was able to use the experience of the team to target companies who might use our services. At the same time I learnt a great deal about a new market for us”. Peter summed up his experience: “One of the highlights for me was the way our group were treated as VIPs at the opening banquet. We were the first to be invited to sign the visitor wall and ushered to our reserved table towards the front of a banquet of over 500 delegates – something I had not expected”.

Ras Patel, Peter May and Rod Parker plan their visit to the exhibition

Final comments come from Rob Fryatt, whose company Xenex Associates had coordinated the visit. “The CAC Agrochem Show is without doubt a unique event. For us it is one important piece in the jigsaw puzzle of understanding China.

This year we felt as if we were all part of the event. It was a great honour to be invited to speak at the main conference and to have additional meetings arranged for our delegation. The event becomes more international each year and in addi- tion  to  our  Chinese  clients  and  network, I was able to meet with companies from Brazil, New Zealand, Argentina Australia, India and the UK”.

There is no doubt that China, its culture and its companies will have an increasing influence on our industry. In the following pages we look in more detail at the Chinese pest management industry.

Published in International Pest Control – May/June 2012 issue.

Category: Special features