The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) has made all preparations for the 23rd Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) 2018 beginning on January 01, officials said.
This year, there will be a total of 587 stalls under 14 categories in the annual trade extravaganza.
"We have made about 90 per cent of our preparations for the arrangement of the fair. The remaining work will be completed by December 31," secretary of the fair Mohammad Abdur Rouf told the FE on Thursday.
Apart from Bangladesh, as many as 17 foreign countries have confirmed their participation in the upcoming exposition, he said.
A total of 44 stalls/pavilions under four categories have been earmarked for the foreign companies.
This year, utmost importance will be given to 'digitisation' of fair-related services so that the visitors can easily spot their desired stalls/pavilions and know latest information regarding the fair with certain Apps on their smartphones.
Considering the growing demand from the visitors, the authorities are setting up a bigger Bangabandhu Pavilion.
Different types of photographs/paintings of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman will be displayed at the pavilion.
Four tiers of security will be in place to ensure security for the visitors. Police, RAB, Ansar and Border Guard Bangladesh personnel will be deployed at the fair venue. Besides, plainclothes policemen will also keep vigilance.
The fair will remain open from 10:00am to 10:00pm daily throughout the month-long event.
The price of entry tickets for adults is set to be fixed at Tk 30 per person and for children at Tk 20, according to fair sources.
The foreign countries that will participate in the fair are India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Turkey, Maldives, the Republic of Korea, Vietnam and Iran.
Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed will hold a press briefing on the fair on December 31 at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar fair premises.
From next year the fair venue could be changed, as the government has previously decided to relocate the venue from Sher-e-Bangla Nagar to Purbachal new town, a location to the east of the capital Dhaka.
It has a plan to hold the trade fair in the new venue after 2018, but the construction work is going on at a snail's pace.
So, it is still uncertain about arranging the fair in the new venue from next year, according to sector-insiders.
The EPB, which is under the ministry of commerce, has been holding the fair since 90s with a view to promoting quality exportable items being produced by people in the rural areas of the country, as they don't have financial strength to participate in the international fair abroad. This annual fair gives them an opportunity to display their products to foreign buyers.
Last year, the DITF received export orders totalling Tk 800 million. The figure may rise to around Tk 900 million this year, the EPB and fair-insiders hope.
