FIEO participates in
35th House & Gift Fair at Sao Paulo
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Mr. S Swaminathan, Consul General of India to Sao Paulo (5th from right) inaugurating the India Pavillion. On his left is Mr. Ajay Sahai, Director General FIEO & Leader of the Indian Delegation; along with Indian participants |
FIEO organised participation of Indian companies in the 35th House & Gift Fair South America held from 18 to 21 August 2007 at Sao Paulo, Brazil. Organized by Grafite Feiras e Promocoes, the fair brought together a large number of international manufacturers, importers and distributors. Roughly 800 exhibitors from Brazil, Argentina, Portugal, France, UK, US, India, China, Pakistan, Philippines etc. showcased their products in the fair ground covering an area of 56,000 sq mtrs. Over 60 Indian companies participated in the fair under the banner of FIEO, EPCH and ITPO. Indian contingent was the largest among foreign exhibitors.
The exhibition generated good inquiries for Indian products like stainless steel utensils, housewares and home textiles. During interaction with Indian exhibitors, most of the Brazilian importers suggested them to stock their goods in Brazil itself for ensuring uninterrupted supply of their merchandise. Nonetheless, Indian exhibitors experienced linguistic barrier while communicating with Brazilian visitors and felt hiring the services of interpreters.
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FIEO contingent included reputed companies from all over the country like FABCO (Varanasi), Seth Kumar Rai International (New Delhi), Ashoka Exports (Kolkata), Invitation Apparels (Mumbai), D Group International (New Delhi), Fortune Stainless Limited (Mumbai), Mayfair International (Mumbai), Shri Navkar Metals Ltd (Ahmedabad) etc. The main products displayed by them included jute & cotton shopping bags, home textiles & made-ups, silk & silk blended plain, printed & embroidered furnishing fabrics, handicrafts, stainless steel utensils, kitchenware, tableware & plastic items, bed linen, curtains, cushion covers, table cloth, floor coverings etc. While inaugurating Indian Pavilion, Consul General of India in Sao Paulo Mr. S. Swaminathan observed that Indo-Brazilian trade was on upswing and the number of Indian companies participating in this exhibition was increasing year after year. He exuded confidence that with the signing of Mercosur Agreement, the trade between the two countries would grow by leaps and bounds. FIEO Director General Mr. Ajay Sahai, who led the Indian participants, discussed with the Consul General the possibility of organizing Reverse Buyer Seller Meet in India. The Consul General appreciated the idea and assured to provide the fullest of the Mission in organizing such an event. Mr. Sahai also mooted the idea of setting up display centre-cum-warehouses at important trade centres in Brazil where Indian exporters could store and showcase their merchandise on a permanent basis. The Consul General welcomed the idea and said this would surely help boost India’s exports to Brazil. FIEO DG, alongwith other visiting officials of the Federation, met the President of Indo-Brazil Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Roberto Paranhos do RioBranco and explored the availability of space for displaying India merchandise on permanent basis. In this regard, Mr. RioBranco arranged a meeting of FIEO officials with Unitrading, a leading Brazilian company having a space of about 50,000 sq feet at a prominent commercial center in Brazil. Mr Darly Rozatto, the Chairman of the Company agreed to provide some fixed space alongwith communication and marketing support to each Indian exporter at the rate of US$150 per month. Indian exporters welcomed the proposal. Considering the fast emerging potential of the markets in the Latin American region, an integrated programme ‘Focus: LAC’ was launched in November 1997 by the Ministry of Commerce. Since then, Brazil has emerged as India’s largest trading partner in Latin America with bilateral trade between the two sides crossing $2 billion mark in 2006 from a meager US $488 million in 2000. Both the countries have jointly set a bilateral trade target of US $10 billion by 2010. |
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| Mr. Sauvik Sengupta of M/s Ashoka Exports with Buyers | |
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Mr. S Swaminathan making his remarks at FIEO Booth. On his left is Mr. Ajay Sahai. |
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From right: Mr. S Swaminathan interacting with Mr. Naresh Soni of M/s Invitation Apparels Pvt. Ltd. (extreme left). Seen on his right are Mr. Ajay Sahai; Mr. Rajeev Kumar, Consul; and Mr. Lekhraj Maheshwari of EPCH. |
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Mr. Swaminathan interacting with Mr. Mukesh Agrawal of M/s Fabco. On his left is Mr. Ajay Sahai and right is Mr. Rajeev Kumar, Consul. |
Following the conclusion of a Preferential Trade Agreement in March 2005, India and MERCOSUR (of which Brazil is a part), have agreed to give tariff concessions to each other, ranging from 10% to 100% on 450 and 452 tariff lines respectively. The PTA will come into force as soon as ratified by the legislatures of Brazil and Argentina.
