"Yes. The market for vitamin raw materials is very large. We are now testing the waters with vitamin E. If we can open this channel, we can also produce vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin D, etc. in the future, making billions of dollars a year.
The business is not unusual." Gao Fan replied.
Zhu Nian automatically filtered out the "billions of dollars" figure mentioned by Gao Fan. Just kidding, last year, the country's export volume just reached 20 billion U.S. dollars, of which nearly half were primary products such as agricultural products and minerals.
Product, you want to sell billions of dollars a year just by selling vitamins. Isn’t this nonsense?
Alas, it seems that this young man has indeed been dazzled by the achievements in exporting chemical cleaning agents, and he is a little ignorant. The province is really stupid, and he would appoint such a child under 18 years old as the general manager of a company.
, isn’t this counterproductive?
Thinking this way, Zhu Nian really couldn't reprimand Gao Fan directly. Unlike Huang Qiming, he was a department-level cadre and knew more about politics. He knew that Canghua Science and Trade was under the personal care of the provincial leaders.
The first joint-stock company established in the province serves as a benchmark enterprise for reform and opening up in Maolin Province.
The Department of Foreign Trade finally squeezed out a quota for the Spring Fair for Canghua Science and Technology Trade, taking this into consideration. Before coming to Yangcheng, the party group of the Department of Foreign Trade gave Zhu Nian a task, and they must work hard to help Canghua Science and Technology get several foreign trade deals.
order to prove that the provincial leaders’ decision-making is upright.
"Xiao Gao, I think it's better for you to focus on the promotion of chemical cleaning agents. Isn't your chemical cleaning agent selling well in the Japanese market? Work hard, not to mention opening up the European and American markets, at least in Southeast Asia.
There is still hope for getting a few big orders."
Zhu Nian advised.
Gao Fan said: "We will continue to make chemical cleaning agents. However, the technical threshold of this product is not high, and any small business can imitate it.
"We just made a time difference before and made some quick money. Once other companies crack our formula or develop similar formulas, our market will be divided up."
"You mean, vitamin production is not easy to imitate?" Zhu Nian asked.
Gao Fan said: "Yes, there are certain thresholds for vitamin production. At the very least, a set of vitamin E production equipment with an annual output of 100 tons requires an investment of more than 2 million yuan. This is not something that ordinary small businesses can get involved in."
As for the vitamin production process, there are also certain technical difficulties, and it will be very difficult for other companies to imitate it."
"So, what kind of companies are currently producing vitamins?"
"All are large Western companies, including Germany's Lloyd's Chemical, Japan's Woren Chemical, and several companies such as Johnson & Johnson in the United States. They almost monopolize the global vitamin production."
"Are you saying that you plan to steal business from these established Western companies?"
Zhu Nian asked in disbelief.
As an old man in foreign trade, Zhu Nian knew all the companies Gao Fan mentioned. Of course, what he knew was not the vitamins produced by these companies, but the other bulk chemicals they produced. Compared with their vitamin business,
The few main products are insignificant.
Thinking about the new year, the technology mastered by these old Western companies is definitely out of reach. Let alone the companies in Maolin Province, even the large companies affiliated to the country will have to do it if they want to steal business from the old Western companies.
It's just wishful thinking. How could this young man in front of me dare to have such a dream?
“Actually, it’s not a grab for business,” Gao Fan said. “The profit margin of vitamin production is relatively high, but the scale of the industry is limited. For these large companies, it’s actually useless.
"The reason why they still maintain the production of these products is mainly because the market requires this aspect, and they can barely maintain production. If there are other companies that can replace their production, they are eager to do so."
】
"Is there such a thing?" Zhu Nian was a little surprised.
Gao Fan's statement was really beyond the scope of his knowledge. But if Zhu Nian was to say that Gao Fan was complete nonsense, he would not dare. After all, Gao Fan had a nose and an eye for what he said. In this era, no one really
to be able to make up such a story.
What Gao Fan said is actually a mixture of truth and falsehood. It is a fact that the scale of the vitamin business is small and does not attract the attention of Western chemical giants. However, due to their monopoly position, these chemical giants can arbitrarily increase the prices of vitamin products in order to obtain excess profits.
So this business can be done in one go.
If other companies enter this market and drive prices down, causing profits to be diluted, then the chemical giants will give up this business.
Many industries developed in China in later generations were abandoned by Western countries because they thought profits were too low. Of course, they would eventually discover that China started from these low-end industries and continued to erode the entire industrial chain, eventually eliminating many products.
The price has been reduced to cabbage prices, leaving Western giants with nowhere to go. This is a story for another day.
"You said you wanted to sell vitamin E, but have you produced the finished product now?" Zhu Nian asked.
"We have completed the laboratory synthesis. Currently, because the equipment is not in place, we are unable to carry out small and pilot tests." Gao Fan replied.
"This is difficult to handle." Zhu Nian said, "You bring your products to the Spring Fair for trading before they are produced. If foreign businessmen place orders and you are unable to produce them, wouldn't this damage the country's reputation?
"
"This is impossible. The production of vitamin E is not a complicated process. As long as we have the equipment in place, we can produce it."
"Would it be better for you to give birth first and then participate in the trade? For example, when the Autumn Trade Fair is held, the Foreign Trade Department can continue to give you a quota."
"Director Zhu, I want this too." Gao Fan said in a helpless tone, "Our original idea was to produce products first and then sell them at trade fairs. However, production requires equipment, and equipment
The investment requires more than 2 million, and the money needs to be borrowed from banks.
"The province said that if we don't have orders in hand, it's impossible to grant us a loan. But without a loan, we can't produce finished products. What do you think we should do?"
Zhu Nian understood it all at once. The senior manager in front of him was trapped in an endless loop. Without orders, he couldn't produce, and without production, he couldn't get orders. Gao Fan obviously wanted to play with his empty gloves at the Spring Fair.
It belongs to Bai Lang, but can I let him play like this in the New Year?
After careful consideration, Zhu Nian finally agreed to Gao Fan's request. However, he was only allowed to carry out some low-key publicity and could not be too public. In addition, if any foreign businessmen were really interested in their vitamin E products, Gao Fan would also have to contact the Department of Foreign Trade.
Under the supervision and guidance of the Party Central Committee, when signing an intention agreement with a foreign businessman, you must not be too full of words.
Of course, if there is an agreement of intention, the Department of Foreign Trade can help Canghua Company coordinate the loan matter after returning to Maolin from Yangcheng. After all, it will be famous at that time.