Business
Port Harcourt Trade Fair: Participants Lament Poor Sales
Participants at the just-concluded 20th edition of Port Harcourt International Trade Fair have threatened to boycott next year’s edition should the organisers (PHCCIMA) fail to put necessary machinery in place.
Speaking with The Tide Wednesday the last day of the trade fair, the President/Chief Executive Officer of First African Pharmaceutical Company, Mr. Paul A. Osemele, said the 2007 edition of the Fair was a total failure.
Mr. Osemele, hinted that the organisers of the programme, PHICCIMA, did not in any way justify the huge sum both the government and the participants invested on the exhibition.
According to him, about N5,000 is paid for a square metre in the trade fair and N100 on daily basis for security, but all to no avail.
He also blasted Port Harcourt Chambers of Commerce Mines and Agriculture for their in- ability to give the trade fair the required publicity which he said was the major reason behind the poor performance of this year’s edition of Port Harcourt Trade Fair.
Osemele who said that he came from US with other sister companies, regretted that he was unable to make enough sales at least to take care of his return ticket back to US.
He also called on PHCCIMA to make enough researches into government programmes in Rivers state, so that the trade fair would not coincide with any government activity.
“If there were enough logistics, enough awareness, people will come. But what we noticed was that the trade fair was going on at the same time with the Carniriv. So more people will go to the carniriv than the trade fair. They (PHCCIMA) should do something and separate the two”, he said.
Also speaking, the sales executive officer of G-F Pubec Nig Limited, Mr. Felix Aluta, said that PHCCIMA should reduce the N5000 per square metre change to N2000.
Mr. Aluta, maintained that the amount (N2000), will encourage more exhibitors to attend next year’s exhibition.
The G-F Pubec Nig. Limited sales officer, who slightly disagreed with others on the total failure of the last edition of the trade fair in Port Harcourt, blamed it on poor economy.
He revealed that people were complaining of poor economy before the trade fair, saying that the total failure of the market was not totally the fault of the organisers.
The Tide further learnt that the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry Mines and Agriculture failed to organise a formal closing ceremony as it promised earlier by one of its big wigs.
Catherine Cookey-Gam
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