Local brands are dominating the ongoing month-long Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) - 2020 in the capital’s Agargaon area. These brands are drawing the attention of local and foreign buyers as customers continue to throng local stores and purchase locally made products.   

Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) deputy director Mohammad Abdur Rouf said that some local brands successfully grabbed the attention of the visitors because of their beautifully decorated pavilions showcasing their products.

Visitors to this year’s edition of DITF are expressing considerable interest in locally made products, resulting in a hike in their sales, he said.

While visiting different local stalls, The Independent found that the stalls of local companies are

attracting the low- and middle-income buyers. They are crowding at the stalls of Walton, Runner, Akij, PRAN and some other local companies.

The sellers have also expressed satisfaction over increasing trend of public gathering at the very onset of the fair.

Walton, a local electronic and home appliance manufacturing brand, has set up two pavilions with numerous products.

Humayun Kabir, Executive Director of Walton Group, said Walton is the top brand in Bangladesh. The company manufactured basic raw materials for home appliances including fridges, televisions, and air conditioners in its factory to meet customer demands.

Besides, the stalls decorated with television, electric appliances, and technology products like mobile phones, laptops and computers. There are two vast stores on the second floor of both pavilion, he said.

He said now they are eyeing to become one of the top brands in global market.

“Walton has brought different categories of TV which are being offered an impressive percent of discount at the fair,” he said.   

He said Walton introduced eight new TV, refrigerator and washing machine models at the fair, while more items would be launched at the fair in the coming days.

Kiam Metal Industries Ltd, a sister concern of BRB Group, first started manufacturing pressure cookers in the country at their Kushtia plant in 1994.

The company is now dominating the cookware market with ‘Kiam’ brand products.

Omar Faruk, sales executive of the brand, said: “Crockery has become a vital part of every dining room not only for its utility but also it can lend grandeur even to a little dwelling”.

He said local companies earlier made only traditional cookware like saucepan, dish, frying pan (korai), rice bowls and curry bowls.

“We were once totally dependent on import of pressure cooker, auto-stove and so on,” he said. But now many of us are rather exporting such items after meeting domestic demand,” he added.

He said in the first ten days, a large number of visitors were visited our stalls and we are expecting the number of sales will be increased than the last year.

A salesman of Jermatz Limited said on condition of anonymity that they work with women entrepreneurs. Their products are being exported to Germany and other parts of Europe.

Explaining the price of the products, she said the price of Jamdani saris ranged from Tk. 3000 to Tk. 50,000. Mufflers were priced between Tk. 200 and 300,

baskets between Tk. 60 and Tk. 800, bags between Tk. 100 and Tk. 400, shawls between Tk. 300 to

 Tk. 1,000.

“Our jute products include bags, shopping bags, ladies bags, comb bags and other 20 types of bags of various designs. We produce multipurpose jute products. Our organisation produces table mats, baskets and shoes—all made of jute,” she added.

PRAN foods ltd has been exporting their products since 1991, so far export more than 132 countries and 300 million customers have been consuming PRAN’s product across the globe.      

“PRAN has already managed to grab the export orders from countries like; Dubai and India from this trade, so far this has been our biggest success”, said a official of the company.