International Autumn Trade Fair 2005 records growth of 5 per cent

The expanded list of exhibitors represents 25 countries compared to last year's participation of 582 exhibitors from 23 countries. The fair is expected to attract around 25,000 trade buyers, up 15 per cent from 21,315 buyers last year.

Hon Kong, which debuted at last year's IATF, will be coming back to the show this year with participation on a larger scale. `Hong Kong in Style,' which will run in conjunction with IATF, will feature 225 exhibitors this year.

The large scale participation of Hong Kong comes in the backdrop of the increasing trade between the East Asian country and the UAE and the region in general. The UAE is the single largest trade partner of Hong Kong in the Middle East region.

`Hong Kong in Style' is being organised under the banner of Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Hong Kong exhibitors will display an appealing variety of products at the show ranging from IT products, fashion accessories and gifts, premium interior home furnishings, hotel supplies, household products, jewellery and watches.

Highlighting the business prospects of the 2005 edition, Mr. Satish Khanna, General Manager of Al Fajer Information and Services, the organisers of the show, said: "IATF has a proven track record among regional consumers and we are confident that IATF05 will see a higher number business deals this year."

"This year also, most of the regular exhibitors of the show are coming back with new products. This obviously underscores the strategic effectiveness of the fair as a regional platform to showcase and launch consumer goods and penetrate the market. Besides the higher number of exhibitors, the fair is also expected to draw a bigger turnout of visitors this year," he said.

The popular four-day fair is one of the leading trade shows in the Middle East that brings together buyers and sellers in the consumer goods sector. This year, the fair will host the official national pavilions of seven countries, occupying 75 per cent of the 13,000-square metre exhibition space.

The national pavilions include 200 exhibitors from China, 225 from Hong Kong, 20 from Bangladesh, 20 from Singapore, 25 from India, 30 from Korea and 15 from Sri Lanka. Other countries participating at IATF05 at individual levels include Iran (20), Italy (20), Malaysia (5), Indonesia (5), UAE (25) and Turkey (5).

In line with the past trends, participation from China continues to be enormous, with the pavilion being organised by several official bodies like China Foreign Trade organisation, China Orient, Sinobal China, CCPIT - Ningbo, CCPIT- Hunan and others. These participants have been represented at the IATF since its inception.

Participation by Bangladesh is organised by the Export Promotion Bureau of Bangladesh, while that of Korea by Korea International Trade Organisation, Sri Lanka by Sri Lanka Export Development Board and India by the National Small Industries Corporation.

The fair will be open to trade visitors on all the four days and to the general public in the evening of the last day.

IATF05 will unveil an exciting mix of products comprising cosmetics, foodstuffs, electronics, household appliances, plastic household products, toys, stationery, electrical items, handicrafts, carpets, garments, textiles, house ware, kitchen ware, sanitary ware, novelties, machinery, machine tools, hardware accessories and diary products.

Al Fajer has launched an extensive media campaign to attract trade visitors from all over the Middle East and neighbouring countries. "A massive advertising and media campaign is planned to promote the show in the Gulf region, Middle East, Iran, North Africa and the subcontinent," Mr. Khanna said.

"All channels including electronic billboards, hoardings, SMS, e-mail marketing, radio and print media are being utilised to draw decisions makers from across the region. Aside from this, invitations are also being extended to trade visitors through a direct mail campaign targeting 50,000 potential visitors which is already on," he added.