Book fair sees large crowds, good sales on first Friday

The Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2023 not only saw a high turnout of visitors of all ages on Friday but traders reported good sales as well.

Publishers not only expressed satisfaction with sales figures but also hoped they would be able to recoup the losses of the last two years caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

They said book sales on the first Friday were satisfactory considering the country’s ongoing economic crisis, which has already caused consumers to tighten their belts and cut back on expenditures in many areas of life.     

The Suhrawardy Udyan and Bangla Academy premises in the capital saw larger crowds of bibliophiles, who roamed around and browsed books in different stalls, compared to the two previous days.

Md Ebadul Haq, a Bangla Academy official, said the fair was attracting larger crowds compared to the last two years.

“The highest sales are usually logged on Fridays as visitor turnout remains high due to the weekend. We are seeing very large crowds this year,” he said.

“We could hardly sell in the last two years due to the pandemic. Now we are hopeful to have a good year and make up for the losses of the last two years as well,” he added.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the fair on Wednesday. The first two days did not witness many visitors while sales were poor as well.

Shams Shuvro, manager of Pathak Shamabesh, said they had released many new books this year.

“Sales were very poor in the last two years due to Covid-19. But we are very optimistic this year. We have the target to sell nearly 20,000 books.”

Book prices up

Amid soaring inflation and skyrocketing commodity prices in the country, book prices have gone up by 22 per cent compared to last year, according to the Bangladesh Publishers & Book-Sellers Association. This has affected consumers’ book budgets, which is reflected in how customers are deciding what to purchase at the fair.

The association says paper prices saw a nearly 100 per cent increase this year while the number of published books has fallen by 50 per cent to 2,500.

Saidur Rahman, a student at the University of Dhaka who visited the fair on Friday, said not many new books have been released this year while prices are much higher.

“I cannot easily decide whether and how much I should spend on books. I have to be mindful of the ongoing economic situation in the country,” he said.

Publishers, however, expressed hope that book lovers would make purchases despite the high inflation and the increase in book prices. They said sales would definitely increase compared to the last two years.

Shamal Paul, convener of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair Standing Committee, said 2023 will turn out to be a great year for publishers in spite of all the challenges the nation is facing.

“Book lovers will surely buy books to quench their thirst for knowledge and delight. We are hoping to sell books worth around Tk 50 crore this year,” he said. Some sellers, meanwhile, said sales figures are not yet commensurate with the visitor turnout.