People defy chilly weather to visit DITF

Even though all the pavilions are not ready to showcase their products, people have started visiting the Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) defying the cold weather that has wrapped the capital and its surrounding areas.

Traders of furniture, kitchenware, consumer goods and foods started sales on the fourth day of the month-long DITF, the country’s largest annual commercial and trade event, at the Bangabandhu Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre in Purbachal on Wednesday.

“From the first day Till now, we have sold nearly Tk 15 lakh worth of products. We are offering a 10 per cent discount here,” HATIL’s DITF pavilion in-charge Md Asaduzzman Bhuiyan told The Business Post.

Most of the furniture brands — including HATIL, Partex, Navana, Brothers, HATIM and DELTA — have already set up shop at the fair, where they are offering 5-10 per cent discounts.

“The furniture pavilions are more orderly and organised than the others because branding gets priority over selling for us,” said Omar Faruque, the HATIM pavilion in charge.

Although the weather has gotten colder over the past couple of days, many people have started coming to the fair. Hopefully, visitors will come in full swing during the weekends and after many return from vacations, said Arif Hossain, a salesperson at the Miyako Appliance pavilion.

Talking to The Business Post, Nabisco Assistant Manager (marketing) Tanjilur Rahman said, “Our sales have not picked up yet but it’s still not bad considering the fair has only started.

Md Sazzad, who came to DITF with his family from Gazipur, said, “We are browsing and checking out the products. We plan to buy some kitchenware. Hopefully, we’ll find some that are not too costly.”

Md Zahid has come from Kashmir and is sealing Kashmiri shawls at a stall at the fair. He said, “Sales are yet to get better since it’s the fair’s initial stage. Hopefully, the business will gain momentum over the new weeks.”

Kiam stall’s deputy in-charge Babul Aktar said they are offering a 10-15 per cent discount on their cookware at the fair. “We are still bringing in our products but the sale has begun. Hopefully, our sales grow after 10 days.”

Hasan Ali came to DITF with his wife and child from Uttara and bought some cookware and dry food. “Apart from buying this and that, our main goal is to spend some quality family time outside.”

“We decided to visit now because the number of visitors will rise exponentially in the coming days,” he added.

This year, DITF will host a total of 331 stalls and 57 pavilions and mini pavilions. There will be 17 stalls by companies from 10 countries, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Turkey, Malaysia, India, Pakistan and South Korea.

Like last year, the fair committee has set up a special BRTC bus service from Kuril Bishwa Road to Purbachal to make it easy for visitors to travel.

Apart from a huge parking lot, the exhibition centre on the outskirts of the capital also has an auditorium, conference rooms, restaurant, children’s play area, prayer room, medical booth, guest rooms, built-in public address system and a modern firefighting system.