UNB, Dhaka :
Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF-2014), a regular winter event, has drawn huge crowds at the fag-end of the month-long show prompting the participants to seek an extension by at least a week.
Thousands of visitors from different parts of the city and its adjacent areas were seen crowding at the fair on Friday, the 28th day of event which has virtually turned into a recreational event for Dhakaites.
Talking to this correspondent, a number of participants expressed their satisfaction over the brisk business with an incased volume of sales, and sought an extension by 7-10 days to fulfill the desire of both the visitors and participating companies.
However, the Commerce Ministry has not yet responded to the extension plea came from the businesspeople and the participating companies.
“There is a demand for a 10-day extension. We forwarded it to the Commerce Ministry and sought instructions in this regard, but no decision yet,” Shubhashish Bose, Vice Chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) told UNB on Friday.
Responding to a question, he said they (organisers) are so far happy over the feedback from the visitors they shown with their overwhelming presence.
Another official at the EPB said the fair is seeing the number of visitors than the expectation. “We’re happy over the response,” said Dr Bikarna Kumar Ghosh, Deputy Director (Fianance) of the EPB.
Responding to a query, the official said the possibility of extending the fair duration is unlikely.
Enayet Ferdous, Adviser (media) of Walton, a Bangladeshi manufacturer of multi-staged refrigerator, freezer, air conditioner, TV and motorcycle technology, said all the participants together sought an extension of the fair by at least seven days, but there has been no response.
He, however, expressed satisfaction over the high presence of visitors and great volume of sales of Walton electronic products in the trade show.
“You see, people had apparently been confined to homes due to political instability for the last two-three months. We had to keep our showrooms closed. So, this trade show amid a relative political peace is a good platform both for us and the buyers,” Ferdous said.
Proshanto Das, who came to shop with his younger sister at the DITF, said, “This is a perfect place for both shopping and having fun together. It’ll be good enough if the fair is extended for few days.”
The pavilion, titled ‘Bangabandhu Memorial Pavilion’, set up in the DITF this year too for projecting the history of the Liberation War before the young generation, is also drawing huge crowds.
Visitors, particularly the school, college and university students, were seen crowding at the fair at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar that ends on February 11.
The month-long 19th edition of the annual event began on January 11 with a high hope of fetching significant export orders.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the fair, a platform for both local and foreign producers to showcase the products.
A total of 47 foreign companies from 12 countries are participating in the fair arranged by the EPB and the Commerce Ministry.
The participating countries are China, India, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Iran, South Korea, Thailand, the USA, Pakistan, Turkey and Singapore.
