Doing Business with China… Guyanese companies import substandard Chinese products

Oct 08, 2013 News

By Kiana Wilburg

Jason Zhang, First Secretary in the Chinese Embassy in Guyana, at a recent business forum said that he is painfully aware of the second-rate goods coming out of China.
His comment was made at the Guyana International Convention Centre at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown. The diplomat was giving a presentation at the forum which spoke mainly on the developments in the trading relationship between Guyana and China.
However, the subject of low-grade products was of great concern to the businessmen and financial investors who were in attendance. Commenting on the issue was businessman, Alfred Ramsaran.
Ramsaran said that whilst he can testify to the fact that China does manufacture high quality products it is disheartening to know that some Chinese companies are importing substandard products and nothing is being done about this.
This concern was highly supported by other businessmen at the conference.
Ramsaran said that he made several visits to China and was able to source high quality products and ship them to Guyana. However, he noted that it was quite difficult to acquire the same quality on the local market, and this he adds, has a negative impact on businesses and their growth.
He then made a call for mechanisms or systems to be put in place to deal with this issue. At this point, Evadnie Enniss, Executive Director of the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) said that the bureau does not regulate all goods coming into the country.
She recommended that consumers be wise when shopping. But be that as it may, she then asked, “What do people expect when they want a so called high quality item at a low price?”
Zhang added that those substandard goods are actually made for the poorer parts of China but are unfortunately shipped and sold to the Guyanese consumers.
Another businessman also suggested that more information on how to identify valid companies that conduct their businesses online needs to be more readily available.
He said that he and other businessmen have experienced difficulties with more than two companies who were not as authentic as they were portrayed to be.
Zhang advised all businessmen to be cautious of these businesses. He urged that entrepreneurs at least send a representative to the country to ensure contact with an official company and that the products are also of the quality they purport when advertised in a catalogue.
He suggested, too, that they use the cantonfair.org website. This site, he said, provides a list of genuine businesses that are responsible and trust worthy suppliers of goods and services.
He also urged them to beware of sites that request advance payments. Ninety per cent of such requirements have been reportedly linked to fraud cases.
He insisted that they always make records and keep documents of such transactions.
Zhang said that there are a number of steps that can be taken in order to avoid being scammed by Chinese entities that have their businesses online.
Smaller companies that are unable to visit China or hire such service providers may wish to conduct additional checks on the company’s standard certificate and export license.
The Guyana Embassy in Beijing would also like to inform the general public that they would be able to assist in conducting preliminary checks, particularly step one and two but has no legal authority to demand additional information.

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Doing Business with China… Guyanese companies import substandard Chinese products

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