Bangladesh Leather Fair expected to generate business
Bangladesh Prime Minister, Begum Khlaeda Zia, formally inaugurated the seventh Dhaka International Leather Fair on March 28, which is hoped will generate millions of dollars of orders, following the success of last year’s event. Export orders worth $7.7 million were generated at the last show. The fair, which is organised by the Bangladesh Finished Leather and Leather goods and Footwear Exporters Association (BFLLFEA) and the Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA), ran to March 30.
A total of 65 organisations exhibited their products, chemicals and machinery at the fair, which has been a regular annual event since 1999.
At the opening ceremony, the Prime Minister said that the government will soon form a high-powered committee to solve the existing problems of the leather industry, particularly connected with banking. Calling her government 'private sector-friendly', she also gave assurances that the government would provide support to the industry and look into the demands of the leather entrepreneurs. She told entrepreneurs that the leather industry has been identified as a thrust sector and that the interest rate on industrial credits for this sector has been reduced to 7%.
The Prime Minister called upon the entrepreneurs and business people to use modern technology and diversified designs for attracting more buyers in the global market. "Foreign investors are interested in investing in Bangladesh," she asked entrepreneurs to try to focus on setting up joint-venture projects.
