As of now the headlines are all we have but they are impressive. Two hundred crore in export orders were generated from the Annual Trade Fair that concluded on Saturday.
Details of these orders haven’t been released but it is likely that consumer goods and a combination of electronic and pharmaceutical products will lead the way of these orders. On a local level, the one-day extension of the fair is suggestive that overall sales fell below expectations and raises further questions.
The biggest sales festivals centre round the two major Islamic festivals, Eid ul Fitr and Eid ul Adha and the main Hindu occasion of Durga Puja.
In the last three festivals sales were slow and much hope had been pinned on the Trade Fair for a recuperation of lost sales. The Fair takes its own time to warm up leaving time much shorter than the one month to generate business.
Accordingly there was the usual demand for timings to be extended and importantly pricing and product quality improvements to have been visible. There was no specific drives by the agencies concerned to clamp down on counterfeit products as well as those not approved by the Standards Testing Institution.
This loophole may have led to increased sales under the lure of cheaper prices but will in the long run erode confidence in local industries.
On the contrary small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that can’t afford to hire stalls but have an array of products that serve as substitutes for more swanky products were deprived of being on display.
These are the industries that keep the wheels of the economy churning and contribute as the largest labour intensive employers. Their products are to be found with street vendors and smaller shops but as larger companies such as Pran proved, a minimum quality standard can find markets even with neighbouring India where SMEs aren’t anything to be laughed at.
The Trade Fair has deviated from one of its main goals - highlighting the best the country has - in the absence of thought through processes. Discussions and seminars on the potential on offer with a select group of invited businesses from abroad could have led to orders far exceeding the one we know of.
Seminars sharing the knowledge of our businessmen who have the option to travel would have been invaluable and the absence of any meaningful intervention by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry to boost such activity has always remained a mystery.
Just as mystifying has been the absence of the SME Foundation that must be the one-stop venue for information and products produced by its members. Products are important but in today’s world even the middle class are asking questions about sourcing and sustainability. It’s doubtful whether answers to those questions are readily available.