Recently, approximately a thousand guests and merchants from the spice and condiment industries around China convened in the city of Yulin, Guangxi for the 2023 China-ASEAN Expo Spices Exhibition, where they joined by more than 200 investors and buyers from nations such as Indonesia, Vietnam and India.
Adopting a digitized method to create the "bellwether" and "barometer" of high-quality development of the Chinese spice industry has emerged as an innovative pathway in Yulin's pursuit of "optimization and excellence", according to the Publicity Department of Yulin Municipal Government. The Xinhua-Yulin Spice Price Indices Operation Report, jointly composed by Xinhua China Economic Information Service and Yulin Municipal People's Government, was officially launched during this year's Spices Exhibition.
Guangxi region is one of China's major spice producers, while its city of Yulin has been dubbed "Capital of Medicines in the South" and "Capital of Spices in the South", serving as one of the major growers and distributors of spices in Southeast Asia. There are more than 200 types of commonly found spices in the world, over 160 of which are traded in Yulin. Statistics indicate that there are some 800 businesses engaged in the production and sales of spices in the city of Yulin, more than 100,000 are employed in the industrial chain, and 80% of the country's spices are traded here and distributed from here.
At China's biggest tier-one spice exchange, the Yulin International Spice Exchange, the varieties of spice products are simply astonishing. In 2022, transactions in the Exchange amounted to 26 billion yuan, and the figure this year is projected to reach 40 billion yuan. Every day, spices from around the world are assembled here, then transported by way of logistics to various provinces, regions and municipalities throughout China, and numerous markets around Southeast Asia and Africa. Li Hai, General Manager of the Yulin Fuda Spice Exchange Digital Science and Technology Co., Ltd., remarked: "Around more than 50% of spices found in Yulin are imported from Southeast Asia, then distributed to the secondary markets across the country through the Yulin Exchange."
The coming into effect of the RCEP has made it easier for food products from the same source to clear customs, while taxes on a wide range of spice products have been lowered, further promoting the imports and exports of spices.
Following the commencement of Phase I and Phase III of the project, the Yulin International Spice Exchange is set to be renamed "Yulin International Spice Logistics Port", and the city of Yulin is going to quicken its step in creating a world-class spice trade and distribution center.
Source: The Publicity Department of Yulin Municipal Government