As the coronavirus pandemic impacts global trade, India's flagship trade promotion fairs will go virtual this year, to continue with timelines ensuring that it is business as usual. According to sources, the marquee India International Trade Fair (IITF), is also likely to go virtual, for the first time, due to the pandemic guidelines.

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It seems like the industry has taken the move to hold virtual trade fairs positively, as it is a good platform to conduct business and is cost effective too.

Talking to CNBC-TV18, Ajay Sahai, CEO and DG at the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said, "IITF is the largest trade promotion show of India, but over the last many years we have seen that IITF attracts more of domestic retail shoppers, which international traders were not liking much. But, with the pandemic and IITF going virtual, it will be a big boon for the importers and exporters, especially the MSME industry as it will save costs. Going to physical trade fairs is 10-15 times costlier than virtual trade fairs. Also last few months experience shows that virtual trade fairs manage to attract genuine buyers and good orders. Physical trade fairs on the contrary are more of only enquiries."

On the similar lines, Rakesh Kumar, Director General at Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) said that virtual trade fairs are getting a good response and is helping generate genuine business ties.

"EPCH has conducted two virtual fairs in pandemic and both have been fairly good as compared the the current business sentiment across the globe. Recently, the 50th edition of Indian Handicrafts & Gifts Fair (IHGF)-Delhi fair Autumn’2020 also happened on the virtual platform and the exhibitors are receiving good response from overseas buyers, buying agents and domestic volume buyers on virtual platform. On the Golden Jubilee edition of IHGF-Delhi fair Autumn’2020 Prime Minister Narendra Modi too had said that leveraging technology has helped various sectors strive for disruption resilience and it is the spirit of the EPCH that brings the overseas buyers, exhibitors, craftsmen and artisans under one digital roof to showcase their products and add strength to the resolve of 'Vocal for Local' and help make deeper inroads into the global market," said Kumar.

Even categories like food and beverages managed to attract good international orders through virtual trade fairs. Mohit Singla, Founder Chairman of Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI), under the aegis of Commerce Ministry said, "Fairs such as the Mega Virtual Buyer-Seller Meet powered by Indusfood-F&B got off to an invigorating start in the month of September. The first day witnessed five engaging and fruitful sessions between Indian F&B exporters and buyers from Southeast Asia, Europe, UK, Australia, New Zealand, US and Canada.

"TPCI has already done more than 70 MVBSM consisting of Food and Beverages and Food Tech and Packaging sector. The effectiveness of virtual media is garnered only by controlling and managing the selection and timely meetings of appropriate stakeholders. It doesn’t work well in a captive environment, as it becomes similar to running a website. TPCI organized one-on-one virtual BSM meetings at fixed time slots by carefully curating who meets whom, so that instant orders could be placed in virtual medium."

First Published:Nov 10, 2020 10:55 PM IST