Maui Products Could Be Selected For Export to China

Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz, file photo by Wendy Osher.

By Sonia Isotov

In November, a select group of Hawaii retailers will have an opportunity to sell local products to a delegation of 13 Chinese buyers who will visit Hawaii as guests of Lt. Governor Brian Schatz.

Lt. Governor Brian Schatz, during his recent trip to Beijing, finalized details for this delegation’s trip, and the state’s Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT) is coordinating the visit. As part of the effort, DBEDT is developing a list of product vendors for a mini-trade show or site visitations, and will be asking for samples and digital information regarding the Hawaii-made products.

“If Hawaii companies ever planned to do business in China, opportunity just knocked,” said Richard Lim, Director of DBEDT.  “The Chinese government themselves is offering Hawaii businesses a chance to enter the world’s most rapidly expanding market.”

13 buyers representing retailers and importers in China will be sent to Hawaii in November by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.  They will be looking for high-end products that can be sold individually or as gift baskets.  These include food products, beverages, “nutraceuticals,” beauty and vanity products, apparel, specialty gifts, wood products, and other gift products unique to the islands.

Besides purchasing the products, the Chinese government will help with product entry requirements, and place companies in an excellent position to enter distribution channels.

Under an agreement signed recently between the State of Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) and the Beijing International Brand Management Center—an agency of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce—Hawaii products will be purchased for export to China during the billion dollar gift giving Chinese New Year season.

Partners in this initiative include:  Hawaii Department of Agriculture; Enterprise Honolulu; Maui Economic Development Board; Hawaii Island Economic Development Board; Kauai Economic Board; US Export Assistance Center; Kauai Chamber of Commerce; Maui Chamber of Commerce; Big Island Chamber of Commerce and the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce.

Companies interested in registering for this program should contact Milton Kwock, at 587-2759 or at mkwock@dbedt.hawaii.gov by September 15, 2011.