The 26th Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) kickstarted on January 01 at the Bangabandhu Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre in Purbachal and continued for the whole month amidst many speculations of the postponement of the fair due to rising Covid infections across the country. As DITF wasn't arranged last year due to the Covid surge, everyone was eagerly waiting for this year's fair, excited for the first fair at the relocated area in Purbachal.
Dhaka International Trade Fair couldn't portray its charismatic self this year due to the pandemic. It seemed more like an ordinary fair than the glamorous DITF everyone looks forward to. There were 23 pavilions, 27 mini pavilions, 162 stalls, and 15 food stalls of different categories.
However, this year's fair had its share of highlights with some pavilions doing quite well when most of the pavilions were not able to generate the anticipated sales. Vendors said home appliances, crockery items, leather goods, jute versatility products, handicrafts, biscuits, and various food and women's and children's clothing items were selling well.
The pavilions of popular ice cream brands were doing well as hundreds of visitors flocked to the ice cream pavilions. Igloo, Savoy, Polar, and Milk Vita, were among the popular brands selling ice cream at their stalls in the pavilion.
"Though it's winter, you can't hold your cravings for ice creams, right? I just love ice cream and they all do like me", said Raisa Fatema Bornita, a third-year student at IBA, University of Dhaka, pointing to the huge crowd around the ice cream stalls.
Now one of the main attractions for buyers and visitors at the fair was the pavilions showcasing upholstery products. Buyers were seen buying sofa and chair covers, table lights, window curtains, different types of artificial flowers, floor mats. However, the sellers complained about the comparatively low sales than the previous years. When asked about the reasons, sellers at different stalls said there are more visitors than buyers at the fair. Some sellers even said that the change of venue at Purbachal might be having an impact on the low number of visitors as it is on the outer skirt of the city.
When asked about the fair to another visitor, Pritthi Hironmoy Aurko who came from Mohammadpur said, "The stalls are really small this time, with a fewer number of attractive products that we are used to seeing in DITF. I still remember roaming around big pavilions in the previous editions of DITF, it just didn't give the DITF vibe this time, rather a small fair of sorts."
Another visitor Fariha Tasnim said, "Contrary to previous years, all the branded pavilions are located in the permanent construction in this year's fair, whereas the food stalls and handicraft shops are stationed outside. I love the fair in this new location, the place is really beautiful."
When asked about the fair to Raisa, she said "The stalls are really small this time, with a fewer number of attractive products that we are used to seeing in DITF. The atmosphere here just doesn't feel like we are in the DITF, rather a small fair of sorts."
In the previous fairs, furniture pavilions were very huge and were a centre of attraction for visitors. However, the furniture sellers were seen dissatisfied since they were unable to present enough products to attract customers due to smaller stalls at this year's event. They were allotted only 400 square feet sized stalls, whereas furniture giants like Akhtar Furnishers Ltd had a 10,000 square feet sized pavilion in the last fair.
On the other hand, sellers said that home appliance items' sales have been rather good comparatively, with washing machines and electric kettles being the most sought products.
Most food items, crockeries and plastic home appliance outlets were seen offering discounts ranging from 10 to 20 per cent and some even offered free home delivery to attract customers. Big companies like Nabisco, Nestle, Tasty Treat, etc. were seen giving various combo offers besides the discount. This year's fair had a separate Liberation War corner, where many books and other things depicting the Liberation War stories and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib's life were on display.
"This section caught my eye and was so beautiful. The decoration was so soothing, and the books were pretty good too. I got two books," said Raisa.
Raisa further added, "Also I liked the seating arrangement and photo booths of bKash. Those were really colourful, and most people gathered there to take pictures with their family and loved ones." Another visitor Zinat Maliha, who came to the fair all the way from Mirpur said, "I liked the seating arrangement and photo booths of bKash. Those were really colourful, and most people gathered there to take pictures with their family and loved ones. This was a really nice arrangement and I myself took some pictures with my family there."
This year's fair had its fair share of issues for various reasons that were known to all already. But the excitement of attending this fair was beyond that. Had external factors like the surge of Covid not happened, the fair could have been more successful. However, after a year of not attending DITF, the visitors enjoyed just by attending the fair and visiting the new locations- hoping for a better DITF next year!
The writer is a third-year student at IBA (DU).
