ITPO Holds Meeting for Export Development

Exporters from all sectors of the economy had the opportunity to seek clarification on various issues faced by them and to also identify new areas for boosting the country’s overall exports during an interactive session with India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO). The session was organised in association with World Trade Centre (WTC) Mumbai on May 16, 2016.

Mr. J. Guna Sekaran, General Manager, ITPO informed that ITPO would partner with WTC Mumbai to organise a trade show to promote cosmetics, healthcare and beauty equipment sectors early next year (2017). These sectors are upcoming sectors in India and hold great potential for exports informed Mr. Guna Sekaran.

In order to promote India’s exports, ITPO is organizing 32 overseas events across various sectors and in various regions of the globe in 2016-17, compared to 22 events organized in the previous financial year.

“With a view to facilitate participation of exporters from all parts of India in trade shows in India, ITPO introduced online process for participation at these shows. We plan to introduce similar process for the overseas trade shows in the near future,” Mr. Guna Sekaran added.

During the interactive session, ITPO received several suggestions from exporters across various industries including food ingredients, cook ware, engineering, printing etc. Exporters appreciated the role of ITPO in facilitating the Indian export community. It was suggested that ITPO take steps to increase the participation of exporters across all regions of India. A suggestion was also mooted to facilitate participation of Indian companies in overseas exhibitions in the aviation sector as part of increasing ITPO’s portfolio of exhibitions.

ITPO agreed to add some events overseas to promote exports of high-end printing and packaging material. As suggested, ITPO also agreed to bring together other export promotion bodies and organize workshops in the hinterland to educate entrepreneurs and budding exporters to help them realize their export potential.

It was pointed out that while food sector gets prominence in overseas shows, the same is not true for suppliers of hotel or kitchen equipments etc. Hence, exporters suggested ITPO to seek space in the Food & Beverage (F&B) equipment sector so that the wide range of F&B equipment from India is also showcased at overseas shows.

ITPO offered to support exhibitors in shipping their exhibits to overseas shows and make the related logistic arrangements, provided a substantial number of exhibitors come together for opting such services.

A suggestion was made to organize travel packages for overseas shows. It was informed that ITPO is not involved in travel packages. However, ITPO could help exhibitors to tie up with specialized agencies for travel packages.

ITPO plans to join hands with various trade organizations, including, World Trade Centre Mumbai, to organize events for Indian exporters.

Caption: From (L-R): Mr. J. Guna Sekaran, General Manager, ITPO and Mr. Y. R. Warerkar, Executive Director, World Trade Centre Mumbai.