Expo Pakistan... A hope for tomorrow?

Lahore: The bomb blasts in a Peshawar church on Sunday have cast a shadow over the 8th annual Expo Pakistan – the biggest trade fair in the country – as some foreign delegates cancelled their planned visits to Karachi.

Despite all the challenges, Pakistan’s exporters say they were satisfied with the number of foreign buyers who visited the exhibition on the first day. State Minister for Commerce and Textile Industry Khurram Dastagir Khan along with Commerce Secretary Qasim M Niaz inaugurated the Expo Pakistan 2013 at the Karachi Expo Centre on Thursday.

“I would like to see a bigger expo next year with more focus on sectors like jewellery, textile and agriculture as these have a greater export potential,” Khan said after opening the exhibition. Exhibitors say the presence of foreign businessmen would have been exceptional had the deadly blasts not occurred just three days before the start of the exhibition. However, they were not disappointed.

At a time when foreign businessmen look hesitant, the exporters argue the Expo Pakistan is playing an important role in bridging the communication gap between them and foreign visitors.

“The government should continue to hold these exhibitions even if the exporters fail to reach the target for orders this year. We have to first work on our image as a viable export destination that has been shattered by security challenges in the country,” an exporter associated with the food industry told The Express Tribune at his stall.

“We exported $10 million worth of food products in 2011, today we are exporting goods valuing $40 million mainly to new markets where we have never shipped our products.

This comes in the wake of aggressive marketing by our food industry in the Expo Pakistan,” he added while commenting on the viability of the exhibition on which millions of rupees are spent every year. This is the biggest ever exhibition in terms of participation of local vendors and international buyers, organised by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP).

Exhibitors suggest that the TDAP should ensure that every year new foreign buyers come to Pakistan because the exhibition is more an attraction for those who have never visited Pakistan.

Some exporters say Pakistan should not belittle the export orders coming from relatively new markets of Asia and Africa because the orders coming from these countries are growing at a more rapid pace compared to the developed markets of Europe and North America.

Approximately, 550 exhibitors from different industries are displaying their products and around 800 foreign buyers from over 70 countries are expected to attend the four-day event.

This year’s expo is covering industries like textile, fertiliser, gems and jewellery, auto manufacturing, marble, furniture, agricultural products and other export goods.

TDAP Secretary Rabia Javeri commented that last year’s exhibition featured 52 countries and saw signing of 70 agreements worth over $500 million. “This year, we are targeting to achieve even better results.” The TDAP is facilitating business-to-business (B2B) meetings between foreign buyers and Pakistan’s exporters.

Largest delegations have come from Japan and Malaysia with each having over 80 members. Prominent sectors that have attracted Japanese entrepreneurs include automobiles, engineering and consumer goods whereas Malaysian buyers are interested in more diversified sectors.

Sources Express tribune.