Dhaka trade fair to get permanent venue at Purbachal: Tofail

After a four-day extension, the closing ceremony of the 23rd Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF-2018) was held at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital on Sunday.

Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed who was the chief guest of the ceremony, disclosed the statistics of export orders and sales of the fair.

Tofail said, "This year's trade fair was more successful than the previous years with gorgeous decorations by the exhibitors and massive response from the visitors."

The minister said the participants of the DITF -2018 have received export orders of Tk 1.60 billion while the traders also grabbed business of Tk 870 million during the 35-day trade fair.

The government has a target of exporting $60 billion worth of products and services by 2021, he added.

The government is constructing a permanent venue for the fair at Purbachal over 35 acres of land with a budget of Tk 5.0 billion, Tofail said.

Speaking at on the occasion, commerce secretary Subhashish Bose said the government has been facilitating the country's business community with business-friendly exports and import policy order.

At the closing ceremony, EPB awarded 43 pavilions, stalls and organisations under 13 categories for their performance in the fair.

According to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data, a total of 589 stalls including 64 premium pavilions, 27 foreign pavilions and eight mini foreign pavilions and also 24 food stalls were set up at the fair.

Apart from local companies, 44 participants from 17 foreign countries including India, Bhutan, Pakistan, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Nepal, Japan, Australia, Germany, Hong Kong and the Arab Emirates joined the fair this year.

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Commerce president Md Tajul Islam Choudhury, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries president Md Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, and Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) vice-chairman Bijoy Bhattacharya also spoke at the programme with commerce secretary Subhashish Bose in the chair.