April 2, 2006	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 3, 1427

KARACHI, April 1: Exhibitors at the Expo 2006 Pakistan complain of issuance of only two entry passes for each stall by the Export Promotion Bureau for inviting their guests. There was a big rush at the venue but only ticket-holders were allowed entry. Young people from middle and lower middle strata were particularly disappointed by the arrangements.

Many manufacturers/ exporters complained that the EPB did not consult them prior to the exhibition so they were not able to provide list to potential foreign buyers especially of non-conventional items.

“It would have been more fruitful if the EPB had also invited our existing foreign buyers. That would have definitely made a difference,” Raheel S. Malik, marketing manager, Al-Abid Silk Mills Limited, said.

“Frankly speaking the response from the foreign buyers was half-hearted for bedwear/ bedlinen items, but other sectors receive a lot of enquiries. A good number of MoUs were also signed which is very encouraging,” he said.

He attributed the poor response in the bedwear sector to the lack of coordination between the organizers and exporters. “We have received only four to five serious buyers from Australia, the UK and Germany who have shown their interest and meetings have been fixed with them to strike some deals,” he added.

“This event can be made more result-oriented if the entry of local representatives of our existing foreign clients’ was made easy and a reasonable number of passes were issued to us,” said Novair Farooqui, manager marketing and sales, Gul Ahmed Textile Mills Ltd.

He said there was a dearth of genuine buyers. Very few foreigners showed their seriousness for negotiating a deal for bedwear/bedlinen on the first day. “I do not agree with this option as about 1,000 foreigners from 57 countries are here for the exhibition where almost all sectors of the economy have put on display their products,” said another stallholder.

It seems that entry to this mega event has deliberately been made difficult to discourage rush. The entry ticket for common visitors has been priced too high at Rs200 per head that can only be purchased from National Bank branches. As Sunday is a bank holiday the ticket will not be available on the last day of the show.

The rush was probably avoided to ensure security for the high-profile gathering and especially to over 1,000 foreigners who are here to attend this event.

Even the entry of media people was restricted and passes were issued selectively. Many people, especially the youths, were found standing outside the entry gate to get in but were returned back by the security personnel.

Sources told Dawn that the steering committee of the mega event was suggested to reduce the fee to Rs50 but the proposal was rejected on the grounds that it would create problems for the security agencies. Some members of the committee argued that it was the right of general public to visit such exhibitions to know what was being produced by the country and to where it was being exported.

“Export exhibitions all over the world are basically arranged for foreign buyers and the first and foremost objective of such fairs is to provide an uninterrupted and peaceful environment for customers for interaction,” Expo Pakistan media in-charge Sajid Hussain told Dawn.

He said that since it was exclusively for business people and foreign clients the presence of general public would have hindered the smooth interaction between buyers and sellers.

In reply to a query about what arrangements have been made for issuing tickets to the general public on Sunday as all banks will remain closed, he said that a booth at the entry gate would issue passes on payment of Rs200 per person.

When asked that exhibitors were not happy over limited entry passes issued to them for their clients, he said the EPB prior to the expo had sought a list of their customers to whom the exporters wanted to invite but they did not furnish the same.

This year major interest was shown in food processing, leather goods, garments, textiles, etc. He said at this stage it could not be possible to quantify the orders placed with the manufacturers or declare the event a great success, but it was a very well-managed one and a number of foreign visitors appreciated the organizers for arranging a huge expo in which about 450 stalls were set up by all sectors of the economy.

The result of this expo would be visible in next few months when the exporters would start receiving orders and this would ultimately boost exports of the country, he added.

He said that out of total 1,000 foreign visitors, about 500 were hosted by the EPB in three categories. Chief executives of some big companies were accorded full hospitality means travelling, accommodation and pick and drop.

Under local hospitality, guests were received from airport and provided with accommodations and transportation. While in the third category of local facilitation, guests were only accommodated on their own expenses in hotels.