Trade fair abuzz with visitors
Thousands of visitors thronged the ongoing “Dhaka International Trade Fair 2012” in the city's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar yesterday to catch a glimpse and pick the best bargains of products and services being showcased.
A total of 506 stalls and pavilions, including that of 47 foreign companies from 12 countries, were erected in the country's largest exposition organised by Export Promotion Bureau and Ministry of Commerce.
The fair, in its 17th year, aims at promoting local manufactures and producers and providing a platform for companies to market their brands, offer discounts and present their latest products, said the organisers.
Products on sale include machinery, carpets, cosmetics, electronic, jute, leather and sports goods, sanitary items, toys, ceramics, locally made fabrics, cables, processed food, furniture and handicrafts.
“We really do not get enough scope to go out and shop,” said one visitor, Maksudur Rahman, employee of a private firm. “The fair offers the opportunity to choose from a variety of products and services.”
Pavilions selling household and kitchen items were seen brimming with female visitors yesterday.
Assistant General Manager (marketing) of Talukder Group, Mazharul Islam, said they were offering around 100 types of plastic items for sale.
In-charge of Karupannya Rangpur Ltd's pavilion, Ashequr Rahman Rumel, said with jute as their theme this year, they were selling floor coverings and home furnishings alongside various cotton and polyester items.
Assistant Marketing Manager of Rangs Electronics Ltd, Mohaiminul Ishahaq, said they were showcasing the company's latest products including televisions with internet service and high definition media players.
Around 200 visitors were arriving to register with bKash, a mobile financial service provider, every day, said the company's representative Mahmudul Hasan.
Ziaur Rahman, the pavilion in-charge of Athena Furniture and Home Décor, a sister concern of Anwar Group of Industries, said they were trying to familiarise the company, launched in 2004, with the customers through their first-ever pavilion.
Representatives of Texmart, an apparel house, said they were offering discounts ranging from 40 to 60 percent in both male and female clothing.
The exposition also offers business opportunities for those who can not afford to set up a stall. A 22-year-old man, Saiful Islam, said he goes around the fair selling around 30 plastic shopping bags each day, profiting Tk 20 apiece.
There are around 250 hawkers like him at the fair, he added.
A pavilion exhibiting rare pictures of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was also set up at the fair, said one visitor, Khairul Islam, a third-year student of Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Agricultural University.
Meanwhile, representatives of two pavilions, Kiam Metal and Delhi Aluminum, selling kitchen items, pelted bricks at each other around 1:00pm yesterday over encroaching on pavilion space, said Kamal Hossain, in-charge of police at the fair.
Sayed Belal Hossain, deputy director of Export Promotion Bureau, said they would take legal action against those responsible and more police personnel will be deployed to ensure security at the fair.
The month-long fair, which began on January 1, is open from 10:00am to 10:00pm every day. The entry fee for adults is Tk 20 and for children is Tk 10.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments