Home ›› 18 Oct 2022 ›› News
One week since its launch, the Bangladesh International Trade and Export Fair (BITEF) in Chattogram is yet to draw visitors with nearly half of the venue remaining empty without stalls.
On Sunday evening, deemed to be the peak hour of the fair, only a few visitors roamed the venue with only a few complete stalls and slow sales.
The seventh edition of the trade fair, arranged by the Chittagong Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (CMCCI) at the outer stadium in the port city’s Kazir Dewri area, was launched on 9 October to promote domestic products at home and abroad. It is scheduled to run till 30 October.
According to the organisers, about a hundred companies have registered to participate in the fair. However, as many as 50 stalls have opened till Monday.
CMCCI Vice Chairman Mahbub Chowdhury said, “Every year we organise the international fair, and this year… it has been organised at the outer stadium.”
Explaining the low turnout of stalls and visitors, he said the fair has been inaugurated a bit earlier than the preparation, leaving little time for the registered organisations to open stalls.
Mahbub said the fair will begin in full swing in the next few days.
Visiting the fair on Sunday, The Business Post (TBP) saw that several stalls with food items, apparels, women’s toiletries, children’s toys, and household items were open.
Besides corporate organisations, including Pragati Life Insurance Company Limited, KDS Accessories, Abul Khair Group, and Mir Group have participated in the trade fair.
“We are presenting information about our various services and programmes to the visitors,” said Nazrul Islam, deputy managing director of Pragati Life Insurance Company.
Regarding the low visitor turnout, he said the place might get more crowded in the coming days and it might need an extension.
“If the fair is kept open till November 15, everyone will benefit,” said Nazrul.
Meanwhile, the low number of stalls have disappointed visitors as well.
Visiting the fair on the day, a couple Saiful and Naseema said more people will come to the fair if there is an option to buy more things.
Nazim Uddin, a visitor from the Hamzarbagh area of the city, said there should be some discount on the prices so that people can buy the products at a lower price compared to the regular market.
Meanwhile, the stall owners who appeared at the fair urged organisers to fix the deserted look of the venue quickly.
If the weather is good in the coming days, buyers will come, but the [empty] look of the fair needs to be sorted out fast, they said.
Some of the corporate companies, including Abul Khair Group, are preparing to open their stalls by next week.
