Home ›› 02 Jan 2023 ›› News
The much-anticipated Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) kicked off on Monday with a scarcity of visitors and many stalls and pavilions still not ready to showcase products.
A large number of stalls and pavilions were yet to be ready for visitors on the first day of this month-long event organised at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre at Purbachal in Dhaka.
Only a few pavilions and stalls at the fairground displayed products for sale while the number of visitors roaming the fairground in the afternoon was very few.
The largest annual commercial and trade event in the country opened for visitors at 3pm on the first day. However, from Monday, the fair will open at 10am every day and close at 9pm. On weekends and government holidays, it will be open till 10pm.
Md Humayun Kabir, deputy managing director of Walton Hi-Tech Industries, said Walton has become the prime attraction in the trade fair over the years, with its large pavilion where all kinds of products are displayed and sold.
“Due to space limitations, we cannot showcase all of our products. We are displaying some of our top products this year, but not selling them. We are receiving the buying orders at the fair and would deliver the products to the buyers later,” he informed.
“We are witnessing a huge response from the opening day of the fair. After the inauguration, the prime minister visited Walton Pavilion and expressed her satisfaction over the advancement of Bangladesh's electronic product manufacturing sector,” he added.
Talking to The Business Post, Rukunuzzaman, assistant manager of Joyeeta Foundation, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited several stalls and talked to the entrepreneurs.
“The PM purchased several products, including bed sheet, cloth, and leather items, worth Tk 15,000 from our stall," he said.
Earlier, organisers of the fair claimed that there would be special BRTC bus services from Kuril Bishwa Road to Purbachal for the convenience of the visitors.
But, till the filing of this report at 3pm on Sunday, The Business Post did not find any such buses near the designated stop at the DITF venue.
Abu Raihan, a resident from Nakhalpara area in Dhaka, said, “As I was unable to find a BRTC special bus bound for the DITF, I took a Narsingdi-bound bus to reach the venue.”
“I had to switch buses a couple of times to get to the fair, and it cost me Tk 60. Since the fair does not look complete yet, I will come back another day,” he added.
Another visitor, Aysha Begum, came to the trade fair from Bailey Road in Dhaka with her three daughters.
"I came here by our private car so we did not face any problem to come here. However, today I purchased several cookery items at 30 per cent discount," she said.
Secretary of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Md Iftikher Ahmed Chowdhury told The Business Post that all buses were moved from the site due to security purposes as the prime minister came to inaugurate the fair.
"However, we started BRTC service in the afternoon. On the first day, 20 BRTC busses are in service and from tomorrow, around 60 buses will run for visitors from morning to night," he said.
“Some organisations are yet to complete their preparations. Hopefully, they will be ready within 2/3 days,” he added.
The EPB in collaboration with the commerce ministry has been organising the DITF since 1995. Up to 25 editions, the DITF was organised at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar but the venue was too small to accommodate a large number of participants and visitors.
In this context, the authorities shifted the trade fair to the Purbachal area at its permanent venue to make it an international one.
In the 26th DITF last year, Bangladesh received export orders worth $16m in the largest annual trade event of the country. In the 25th edition held at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Bangladeshi traders received around $2 billion in export orders.
