(Yicai) Oct. 24 -- Shanghai has launched its sixth annual Imported Goods Shopping Festival to showcase products that will be exhibited at next month’s China International Import Expo and build momentum ahead of the trade fair.

This year’s festival, with nearly 50 sales events for CIIE-related products, is being held together with a country-themed goods and culture month for the first time, Liu Zhaohui, a Shanghai commerce official, said at yesterday’s launch ceremony.

More than 10 of the CIIE's year-round trading platform operators will host sales events during the festival, Liu said. Targeting local consumers, the events will offer CIIE products either through direct sales or special cultural activities featuring specific CIIE-participating countries.

Over 100 CIIE products will be sold for the first time at the Hongqiao Import Commodity Exhibition and Trading Center during the festival, noted Zhu Jing, deputy general manager of Shanghai's Hongqiao Import Commodities Exhibition and Trade Center, one of the CIIE’s year-round trading platforms.

This year's Month of Diversified Commodities and Cultures From Different Countries will sell goods imported from 12 countries and regions, including Argentina, Japan, and Türkiye. The schedule includes sales of Pakistani products and traditional Japanese handicrafts.

Also ahead of the CIIE, the organizers of the China International Fruit Expo and importers will bring to the Imported Goods Shopping Festival popular fruits that will appear at the expo, such as Costa Rican volcanic bananas and Peruvian organic blueberries.

Unlike the CIIE, where exhibits are mainly aimed at professional buyers, the Imported Goods Shopping Festival brings fruits that debut at the expo to a wider range of consumers, said Shui Junjing, project director of the China International Fruit Expo.

The festival has held nearly 300 themed events for imported products since the first was held in 2020, generating sales of CNY6 billion (USD842.3 million), Liu noted.

The CIIE, a major import-focused trade fair, will be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev