Thursday, April 25, 2024
The Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) – being organised in the capital’s Purbachal area – witnessed a large turnaround of visitors on Saturday, the second weekly holiday. Organisers say turnout of people is going up day by day despite a chilly weather engulfing the country.
Traders who set up pavilions at the fair expressed optimism that their sales will pick up after mid-January as more and more people are coming to visit every day. The last week of the fair witnesses a hectic buying spree with people splurging.
The highly sought after items at the fair include carpets, cosmetics and beauty products, electronic, jute, leather and sports goods, sanitary ware, toys, ceramics, fabrics, processed foods, furniture and handicrafts.
The visitors are drawn to multiple attractive discounts, special offers, introductory prices, gifts and lotteries and what not.
Speaking to The Business Post, many pavilion in-charges of furniture companies said they have come up with a whole new range of products with different sizes and designs at the month-long trade Fair.
To attract clients, furniture makers have also set up display centres that ooze fashion and modernity with a gorgeous style.
Leading furniture makers Partex, Hatil, Navana, Akhter, Regal and Delta, to name but a few, brought different types of bed, almirah, wardrobe, door, sofa, drawing table, dressing table, tea table and so on made of wood, plywood as well as board, they further said.
At the fair, sales representatives of different pavilions are recruited for a month. Many pavilions include female representatives.
The fair venue also features food courts and rides for kids. Children are attracted to toy stores and parents are bringing them to the event for recreation. Sometimes, little children, especially boys, look excited with a desire to buy toys in the baby product zone.
Meanwhile, girls browse stalls to check out new jewellery and modern finery.
The DITF is not just a trade expo for businesses only, but a popular festival in the country too, RFL Pavilion in-charge Azizul Islam told The Business Post.
Shumi Akter, who was visiting the fair from the Uttara area, said “We have got the chance of buying various items from the fair. I usually buy different types of products from the fair as vendors give big discounts on the latest products.”
She bought many products, including cookeries, cosmetics, clothes, jewellery and toys for their children.
Responding to a query, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Secretary and DITF Director Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury said, “We are expecting this edition of the trade fair to attract more visitors as we have organised different types of facilities, including a bus service."
This year, the DITF is hosting a total of 331 stalls and 57 pavilions and mini pavilions. There will be 17 stalls by companies from ten countries, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Turkey, Malaysia, India, Pakistan and South Korea.
Like the previous 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 venue 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.
The entry fee for this fair will be the same as the last time. It will be Tk 40 for adults and Tk 20 for children.
