'10 queries, no sales': Noida international trade show starts slows

Uttar Pradesh's first such event expected to get many more visitors over the weekend

On the second day of the first Uttar Pradesh International Trade Show in Greater Noida, there's a small crowd around a buyer's facilitation desk for foreigners.

Samuel Boateng, who runs an information technology product company in Ghana, is busy planning his next move with a couple of business partners accompanying him.

The 35-year-old says the event is an opportunity to strike new deals: Exactly the aim of the organisers, the Uttar Pradesh government and the Greater Noida-based India Exposition Mart.

"We have retailers back home from whom we buy, but I'm looking for a big supplier," says Boateng, adding that he found good prices at the show.

Besides helping businesses with sourcing goods, the trade show, which concludes on Sunday, showcases the state's one district, one product (ODOP) initiative, geographical-indication tagged products, and other items manufactured locally.

Across 13 expansive halls, the trade show is hosting over 2,000 exhibitors covering sectors that include agriculture, defence, e-commerce, glass, marble, leather, handloom and handicrafts, and textiles.

Sales have mostly involved domestic retail buyers so far, according to stall owners.

Ashish Jain, the director of agates N stones, a manufacturer and exporter in Baghpat city of Uttar Pradesh, says that he has got an "okay response" from buyers. "Hardly three to four foreigners have visited my stall," he says.

Several exhibitors told Business Standard the same. Manoj Kumar Sharma, director of Metaledge Exports, a company from the 'brass city' of Moradabad, says: "We can't say it's that good a crowd yet; and it's mostly domestic buyers. Export purposes aren't served for a company like ours. Although we were told there would be hundreds of overseas buyers, I have not seen them yet."

He says ODOP is a "noble initiative" but the execution at lower levels is wanting. "Some such stalls were not ready in time, so it could have been organised better," he says, adding that involving non-government organisations is preferable.

More than sales, exhibitors are keen on identifying business-to-business buyers at the trade show.

For Dinesh Kumar Yadav, a carpet seller from Varanasi, the visibility and promotion among potential buyers is a good enough bargain, despite sparse sales. "In two days, we have had probably 10 serious queries but zero sales," he says, adding that they receive orders and queries from establishments such as hotels in general.

At his stall, the products include material such as silk, wool and jute, and one item -- only for promotion -- has the face of Prime Minister Narendra Modi woven into it.

Buyers are expected to swell over the weekend at the trade show. G B Singh and his wife Willi Singh, who live in the United States, were curious to find out how the first edition of the event compares to international fairs they have earlier attended in New Delhi.

When asked, they say the products on offer are impressive, particular handicrafts. Ashish Thakur, a Class 9 student from Ghaziabad, came with his friends for a school trip to the trade show.

What he enjoyed was speaking to different vendors and thinking of possible ideas for startup ventures, looking at demos of electric cars and sampling free products.