Sourcing Bangladesh expo to begin Oct 18

The Export Promotion Bureau is going to arrange a virtual exposition to display Bangladesh’s export-oriented items to global brands and retailers.

The seven-day exposition will be held between October 18 and 24, where global buyers and brands will join to get information about the latest Bangladeshi products.

This edition of the exposition will be held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and all the participants and exhibitors will join through an online portal— www.sourcing-bangladesh.com.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi will inaugurate the exposition.

The virtual sourcing fair titled “Sourcing Bangladesh 2021- Virtual Edition” will focus on major export sectors of Bangladesh namely - readymade garments, leather and leather goods, jute and jute goods, home decor and home textile, pharmaceuticals, agro and agro-processed products, plastic, light engineering, electric and electronics, ICT, furniture, ceramics and handicraft, according to the EPB.

This exhibition will feature virtual booths, digital display of exhibits in 3D, brochures, audio and visual presentation, live chat, as well as virtual B2B meetings and webinars. In addition, there will be a buyer-seller database on the fair website.

EPB officials said that they targeted 200 participants in this exhibition but the exporters were yet to decide whether they will participate or not.

“Around 100 exporters showed interest to participate and most of them have already completed registration. We are hoping that number of participants will increase,” Mahmudul Hasan, Director (Fair and Display Division) of EPB told The Business Post.

“It is our first experience to organise a virtual exhibition but we participated in a lot of virtual fairs. So it is a challenge to arrange and we are hopeful to do it successfully. Our IT department will provide all kinds of support to participants and exhibitors. Exhibitors need only complete registration and provide necessary information and documents,” he added.

A participant needs Tk 85,000 for registration but the buyers and the visitors will be able to visit without any fees, according to the EPB.

Already, the EPB sent a letter to all Bangladesh missions abroad and all diplomatic missions to Bangladesh seeking their cooperation.

The EPB also invited major buyers and their representatives to visit this exhibition.