"Although the fair experienced good number of visitors in the third week, sales were not satisfactory," said Alamgir Hossain, sales executive of Esquire Electronics.

He said, "We sold goods worth around Tk 3 crore in the fair against Tk 4 crore in the last fair."

"We spent Tk 25 lakh on a stall, but we failed to make desired profit at the annual fair," said a salesperson at a stall that displayed electronic goods.

Abdur Rahman Tapan, chairman of Apan Communication, which sold tickets in the fair, said, "We sold approximately 12.50 lakh entry tickets at Tk 10 each in the fair. But we could not make profit."

"We have already paid Tk 1.42 crore to the government to buy the ticket selling rights," he added.

Tk33 Crore Export Order
However, local companies received export orders worth around Tk 33 crore from the fair, according to primary statistics of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

Among others, Super Oil Refinery, Alpha Ball Point Pen Industries Ltd, Helal and Brother's, Euro Food Product Ltd, Miyaku Marketing Ltd, Snow White Enterprise, Asha Embroidery Ltd, Shamah Rezor Blade Industry, Karu Dhara Ltd, Asian Textile and Mark Ice Cream Factory received export orders from buyers of India, Bhutan, Malaysia, and UAE buyers.

The local items, which received export orders, include soybean oil, ball point pen, lungi, agro-processed items, water filter, pressure cooker, lather goods, toys, footwear, disposable razor blade, textile products and ice cream.

Concluding Ceremony
Earlier, at the concluding ceremony of the annual event, Information Minister M Shamsul Islam said an international fair like DITF is a significant event for Bangladesh to promote local products in the world market.

The minister said, "We can introduce our products to the global market through this kind of fair."

Commerce Minister Altaf Hossain Choudhury, Commerce Ministry Advisor Barkat Ullah Bulu, Commerce Secretary Faruk Ahmed Siddique, EPB Vice Chairman Mir Shahbuddin Mohammad and Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Mir Nasir Hossain were also present.

The organisers also awarded some companies for stall and pavilion decoration and customer services.

Asian Textile Mills Ltd, Monno Ceramic Industries Ltd, Abul Khaer Condensed Milk Industries Ltd, Meghna Dairy and Food Products, and Super Oil Refinery Ltd received awards from pavilion category.

BRB Cable Industries, Touch Wood Modern Furniture, Paradise Group, Janata Bank, Brac Dairy and Food Project got award in mini-pavilion category.

Tata International Ltd received special prize in foreign pavilion category.

In stall category, Ornet Services Ltd, Helal and Brothers, Artisti Collection Ltd, Fit Elegance Ltd, Eastern Hardware and Central Hardware Stores, ACME Agrovet & Beverage Ltd, Jordana Cosmetics Corporation, BJ Bed Company, Tecno Venture Ltd, and T-Mart International Ltd received the prizes.