ZITF was an improvement

Published: 10 June 2013

Professor Welshman Ncube has said the 54th Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) was an improvement from last year because high quality products were showcased as compared to last year.

The 2013 edition of the ZITF, which started on April 23 and was opened on Friday by Malawi President Joyce Banda, ended on Saturday.

Professor Ncube told the New Ziana news agency that products exhibited at this year's edition of ZITF had better quality as compared to last year.

"The quality of products that were showcased is high. It shows that Zimbabwe industries are slowly stabilising as compared to previous years," he said.

He also said this year's ZITF was an improvement from last year as more countries had participated at the fair.
"The number of countries that were taking part is 17 up from 14 last year.

"It is also a success in terms of space that was taken up by exhibitors of 49 000 square metres as compared to 48 000 square metres which equals to 95 percent of the available space" he said.

"The number of people who paid to attend the fair on the opening day also increased from last year," he added.

Prof Ncube also said the fair was a success judging by the number of business conferences that were successfully held at the sidelines of the fair.

"We had very successful business meetings like the International Business Conference, the China/Zimbabwe and the South Africa/ Zimbabwe Investments forums held at the ZITF and discussions were robust between civic society, private sector, Government and even foreign investors which went on very well," he said.

More than 460 companies mostly local participated at the ZITF, which was running under theme "Building Value, Enhancing Growth".

ZITF is the largest intra-regional trade fair south of the Sahara.

The annual exhibition offers exposure to trade and public visitors, the multi-sectoral, multinational expo provides the largest, most convenient trade hub in the region.

Its location in Bulawayo, the centre of Southern Africa, is at the crossroads of the regional trade and transportation routes.

- New Ziana.

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