Consumer firms eye major spending spree

A1 The CIIE has helped us embark on another development trajectory and has contributed to the substantial growth of all our businesses. Now, China's contribution to Fonterra's global business, both in terms of volume and value, has increased to over one-third. We are grateful for high-profile platforms like the CIIE where we can showcase our brands, products and values as a whole to various stakeholders all at the same time.

Having witnessed and enjoyed the great spillover effect in the past five years, we are looking forward to this year's CIIE to demonstrate more sustainability initiatives, local collaboration and products that we bring to the dairy industry in China.

A2 Organizing an international event like the CIIE for five consecutive years in the context of the downward pressures in the world economy brought by the ongoing COVID-19 is a strong testament to the resilient stand the Chinese government has taken to support open trade and to expand domestic demand. It is a positive signal for foreign companies to do business in China. The CIIE is an ideal platform for Fonterra to showcase our brand-new products, ideas and services, and to deeply engage with our stakeholders and customers. We appreciate the opportunities that the platform has provided over the past five years.

A3 We think China is playing a crucial role in international trade. The country is now New Zealand's largest trading partner.

China's continuous support of free trade allows New Zealand-based export-dependent businesses like ours to expand in China. The CIIE has offered an open platform for Fonterra to better engage with our trading partners. Fonterra's cooperation deals made at the CIIE this year are expected to be five times more compared to the first year, which lays a solid foundation for Fonterra's substantial growth in the Chinese market.

A4 China is now one of the largest dairy markets in the world. For Fonterra, China is one of our most important strategic markets, accounting for approximately one-third of our total exports. We expect to see further market growth as people's disposable incomes and spending on health products, such as dairy, increase, especially with more awareness of the goodness of dairy following COVID-19.

Therefore, we believe there is great potential in the Chinese dairy market and Fonterra will continue to bring high-quality dairy products from New Zealand, continuously creating new high-function, fit-for-purpose dairy ingredients and service solutions that meet the demands of our clients and benefit the health and wellness of Chinese consumers.

A5 China's current level of opening-up has offered strong support to transnational businesses in terms of huge market scale, support for the rule of law, clear policies and procedures, and the government's efforts to streamline processes. The country's support for open trade comes at an important time for global supply chains, which are experiencing a period of fragility, disruption and delays. Higher-level opening-up can help to reduce such uncertainty by creating consistency for exporters, importers and businesses throughout the country.