DITF deviates from objectives of attracting FDI, export promotion

Badrul Ahsan | Published: February 01, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

The annual Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) has turned into a venue of transacting products locally deviating from its core objectives of promoting country's exports and investment, participants said.
Although the month-long trade carnival first started in 1996 with a view to boosting country's foreign trade and attracting overseas investment, the event is now far behind its main objectives, they added.
Participants at the DITF said if the organisers could have taken initiative for business to business meet, seminar, symposium, road shows and other promotional activities then export of local goods and overseas investment in the country would have increased manifold.
"We have participated in many international trade fairs abroad and saw that the organisers arranged business to business meet and different types of promotional activities from which both exporters and importers got benefit but in DITF, we have never seen such activities," a participant in the fair told the FE preferring anonymity.
Osman Faruk, another participant said there are many producers in the country who produce export quality goods having immense potentiality to be exported, but the entrepreneurs cannot seize the opportunity for lack of knowledge and logistic support. Government through the DITF could open doors of export for those products, he added.
"We are participating in the fair targeting local customers, but it could have become an export venue concurrently," he added.
"We have never been invited for business to business meeting with the foreign importers and never seen the authority highlighting local goods in the international arena through the DITF which could give a boost to our exportable items."
However, high officials at Export promotion Bureau (EPB), the lead organiser of the annual trade fair said for lack of sufficient spaces and due to long duration of the fair they cannot arrange seminar, symposium or other trade promotional activities.
"We cannot arrange seminar, symposium or other trade promotional activities mainly for lack of sufficient spaces. Besides, the DITF is a month long fair, where importers or investors do not prefer to come. It is also an obstacle in the way of such activities," Director General of EPB, Salahuddin Mahmud told the FE Friday.
"Though we could not achieve the ultimate goal of the fair, we had given scope to our nationals to compare the quality of local and foreign products through the annual meet," he added.
Mr Mahmud, however, also said the EPB has a plan to arrange business to business meet and other promotional activities in the years to come.
However, leaders of different trade bodies strongly criticised the authority's present stand on the DITF.
They said the EPB authority could arrange delegation meeting, seminar and symposia on potentials of local products inviting foreign importers through high commissions and embassies in Bangladesh to comply with its objectives but they never did that.
"The EPB authority is only looking after visitors' turnout and domestic sales at the fair which is contradictory to the objective of the event. Many unconventional products could be exported through the fair," former president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI), A. K. Azad told the FE.
Former president of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), Md Sabur Khan has urged the authority concerned to take initiative to boost export of local goods and attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country through the fair.
"DITF is a well-known fair to the international investors and importers. So the authority should now take measures to attract FDI and foreign importers rather than concentrating on only domestic consumers," he added.