In December, the Yiwu Trade Service Center was put into operation in Benin. According to statistics, on the opening day, the center had welcomed more than 3000 visitors and the total turnover was nearly 8 million XOF. Known as the world’s capital of small commodities, Yiwu has the world’s largest small commodity market. But this year, Yiwu has also suffered from the pandemic. As the European and American markets have been hard hit by the pandemic, Yiwu is exploring the African and Middle Eastern markets as the next opportunity for expansion.

“China is giving great support on the construction of overseas warehouses. During our market investigation, we found that the freight forwarders and cross-border e-commerce companies have huge demand for overseas warehouses during the pandemic,” said a director of the trade service center. The new center in Benin has a total area of about 360 square meters. It moves the Yiwu market to West Africa where the local merchants can purchase Chinese goods directly. (By Wu Fengyu, translated by Li Ziyi, edited by Mariam Ayad)

“带你到中国”贝宁贸易服务中心试运营

日前，“带你到中国”贝宁贸易服务中心投入试营业。据统计，开业当天客流量达到了3000余人次，总营业额近800万西法。

众所周知，义乌拥有全球最大的小商品市场。今年新冠肺炎疫情致使全球贸易备受考验，义乌作为“世界超市”也深刻感受到疫情带来的阵痛。在欧美市场受到疫情重创的背景下，非洲及中东市场成为义乌开拓出口的重要方向。

“目前，国家正大力支持海外仓建设。根据我们走访调查市场经营主体发现，疫情期间货代公司、跨境电商对于海外仓的需求极大。”该贸易服务中心的一位负责人说。该贸易服务中心总面积约360平方米，旨在将市场前移至西非，实现海外直采。（吴峰宇）