Exhibitors at Tamale fair complain of low patronage
Some exhibitors at the 24th Ghana International Trade Fair currently underway at the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale have expressed concern about the low patronage at the fair.
A situation they have attributed to poor publicity about the fair on the part of the organisers.
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However, the Ghana Trade Fair Company Limited (GTFC), organisers of the fair, has debunked the assertion, saying it had put in place the necessary measures to attract patronage at the fair.
Varied opinions
While some exhibitors said they had not made any sales since they arrived, others said sales had been slow while some stated that they were not at the fair to make sales but to network for future businesses.
These concerns were expressed by the exhibitors when the Daily Graphic visited the venue of the fair last Tuesday, to interact with exhibitors and the organisers.
The fair which began last Thursday, February 27, has entered the seventh day and is expected to end on Sunday.
The fair, on the theme: “Value Addition, Trading Globally", is to promote value-added products and also connect local industries to international partners.
Exhibitors concerns
An exhibitor, Mr Karim Ouro, the Chief Executive Officer of Karees Food, dealers in kitchen items and handmade shoes from India, told the Daily Graphic that this had been his worse exhibition so far as patronage was low.
He attributed the low patronage to poor publicity on the part of the organisers and suggested to them to bring a popular artiste to perform at the fair to liven up the venue and attract patronage.
Mr Hisham Abodagher from Egypt and sales manager of Induchem manufacturing, producers of additive for the poultry industry, said sales had been slow but hoped it would pick up.
Another exhibitor who gave his company's name as Intelectol, a manufacturer of dietary supplement, said he was at the fair to network for future businesses, and as such he was not so much concerned about sale.
He said people had come for his contacts to be his distributors in Tamale, Bolgantanga and Wa, the capitals of the Upper East and Upper West regions.
Response
The Head of Exhibition and Marketing , GTFC, Mr Asamoah Baffour, in response in an interview with the Daily Graphic about the concerns raised by some exhibitors regarding poor publicity on the fair that they claimed had resulted in low patronage said the GTFC publicised the fair in both the electronic and print media.
He said publicity has been massive on television (TV) and Fm stations in the metropolis before and after the fair begun and it was still underway.
"We have been on the local TV and radio stations almost every day to talk about the fair and we also have live TV coverage at the venue of the event", he stated.
He said the GTFC was also using floats that started last Tuesday, to create awareness of the fair in the metropolis, adding that there was going to be a musical show with Optional King, born Mohammed Lukeman from Tamale, winner of the TV3 Mentor Reloaded (2020 edition) at the venue of the fair.
Empty stands
When the Daily Graphic questioned why some of the stands were empty, he said some of the exhibitors were now arriving.
Mr Baffour also attributed the inability of some of the exhibitors from abroad to be at the fair to the outbreak of the Coronavirus that had placed some restrictions on air travels and also the change in venue for the fair to the north.
Exhibitors
Mr Baffour said exhibitors from the 15 member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) were taking part in the fair.
Others, he said, were from Madagascar, India, Italy, Angola, Turkey, Egypt, among others.
