From a relatively unknown carpet businessman to Afghanistan’s “Internet red” in the Chinese media, this is the transformation of Ali Faiz in the past year.
Last year, Ali’s “transshipment” came a little late. It was at the China International Import Expo (hereinafter referred to as “China Import Expo“) in early November. An Afghan face appeared in the venue of the Expo, attracting the attention of major Chinese media, including China first finance and economics.
Finally, on the closing night of the Expo on November 10, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin separately promoted Ali’s story on his social media “facebook”, and specifically quoted him as saying: “I brought not only carpets, but also the hopes of my hometown people.”
However, it is not Ali’s purpose to be a “net celebrity”. He thinks more about how to drive more Chinese Lbx Pharmacy Chain Joint Stock Company(603883) to understand, recognize and appreciate Afghan goods.
promote Afghanistan with carpet
On the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year, although the flow of people in Shanghai Greenland global commodity trade port is not large, Ali is still carefully sorting out the carpet in the “Afghanistan collection hall”.
Ali, 28, is responsible for the operation of the collection hall. In order to take care of this small booth, he deliberately moved his home from Beijing to Shanghai last August. Ali, from Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, studied in China in 2014 and graduated from Beijing University of science and technology in 2019. In the first seven years of his visit to China, he has been living in Beijing.
It also happened that in August, the political situation in Afghanistan changed suddenly, disrupting Ali’s deployment. He told the first financial reporter: “originally, we wanted to build a 126 square meter Afghan National Pavilion, but due to the sudden change of the political situation in Afghanistan, we can only make a temporary exhibition area of the Afghan assembly hall first.”
In August, Kabul International Airport was in chaos, civil aviation cargo flights were suspended, and the sudden change of political situation also affected the logistics purchase from Afghanistan, but Ali still ruled out the difficulties and opened the door for trial operation as scheduled on August 20. Because there is a position to focus on promoting Afghan goods and making Afghan brands, which has always been Ali’s dream.
For example, most Chinese consumers did not understand the Afghan handmade carpet that Ali had been operating. Ali still remembers his “painful” experience when he sold his first carpet. He told the first financial reporter that in 2018, the first year he began to sell carpets, a customer in Nanchang felt that the price was falsely high after hearing his offer, and directly came to a half price bargain.
This really surprised him. After trying to calm himself down, he carefully and patiently explained the labor, materials, transportation and other costs to the customer, and then the other party began to “know the goods” and was deeply touched, and bought it immediately at the original price he opened.
Afghan handmade carpets have been well-known in European and American countries. The cold mountains in Afghanistan make the wool fiber soft and slender, while the high-quality Afghan carpets are made of lamb wool aged 8 to 14 months. After being made by hand, they feel delicate and smooth, and have a silky luster.
Last year, with the joint promotion of the foreign ministry spokesman and the Chinese media, Ali happily told the first financial reporter: “Afghan products are selling better and better in China, especially since November last year, more and more Chinese recognize and appreciate Afghan carpets.”
launch the brand business card of Afghanistan
Afghan goods that became popular in China last year include not only Afghan carpets, but also Afghan pine nuts.
Since November 1, thousands of tons of Afghan pine nuts have taken the “pine nut air corridor” to fly directly from Afghanistan to China. According to the data of China Customs, from November 2021 to mid January 2022, the customs of Shanghai Pudong International Airport has supervised the import of nearly 1600 tons of Afghan pine nuts.
In fact, Ali was initially urged to start the Afghan pine nut business. He, who has been running the carpet business, said that since the fire of Afghan pine nuts, “friends have always asked me if I have Afghan pine nuts”.
However, Ali’s pine nut business is not without foundation. He was born into a family of Kabul dried fruit merchants. He said that since the pine nuts imported from Afghanistan are mainly raw materials, and the processing, frying and packaging are carried out in China, he will make a good layout in this regard in advance this year.
A large area of lush pine forest grows in the mountainous area of northeast Afghanistan at an altitude of about 1000 meters. Sufficient sunlight and sufficient snow water irrigation give birth to Afghan pine nuts with full particles, thin skin and easy peeling. The export of pine nuts to China has helped many Afghan people achieve employment and improve their lives.
In fact, the Shenzhen Agricultural Products Group Co.Ltd(000061) trade between China and Afghanistan has a long history. As early as July 1957, the first trade agreement between the two countries, the agreement on the exchange of goods and payment between the people’s Republic of China and the kingdom of Afghanistan, agreed that Afghanistan would export sesame, flaxseed, dried fruit and other commodities to China. These goods were very popular in China at that time.
Ali told the first finance and economics reporter that in fact, Afghanistan’s “fist products” are not only carpets and pine nuts, but also each industry has a lot to say. For example, dried fruit is not only pine nuts, but also pistachios, padanwood, fig, etc; Fresh fruit has pomegranate; Herbal medicine has saffron; Besides carpets, handicrafts also include wood carvings and leather products; Jewelry includes lapis lazuli, emerald and tourmaline.
“These products are not just talking about. Their quality is outstanding in the world, even among the best,” he said However, he regretfully told the first financial reporter that although Afghanistan is rich in special products, “the problem is that Afghans do very little by themselves, and many are made by foreigners”. For example, pine nuts are regarded as produced in Pakistan. After Afghan marble is exported to Italy for processing, it is regarded as Italian marble, but Afghan marble is ignored.
Therefore, in the new year, Ali’s wish is to build a reputation for Afghan goods in the Chinese market. He said: “the Chinese market is big and good. Bringing more high-quality Afghan products to China and enriching the Chinese market will help the local people in Afghanistan. It is also a good opportunity for me.”
