Some Exhibitors at the 36th edition of the Lagos International Trade Fair (LITF) have lamented the impact of inflation, high cost of foreign exchange among other macroeconomic fundamentals on their expected sales.
They spoke in separate interviews with newsmen on Wednesday at the LITF organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
Mr Damilola Onipade, a food vendor, noted that the sales of food, which in the past editions boomed, appeared skeletal this year.
He attributed the development to the current global and domestic economic crisis such as inflationary pressures and high cost of foreign exchange.
He added that transportation and logistics challenges hindered visitors to the fair.
“This is not the usual trade fair vibes because by now, there should not be space nor time for this interview right from the first day.
“But this year, even though we anticipated slow sales seeing that the year has been tough on everyone, what we are experiencing is worse than what we expected.
“The traffic situation in this state and the gate fee also contributed to it because you don’t expect someone to come all the way from Ikorodu to buy something of N30,000 and to through the stress that accompanies such purchase on the road,” he said.
Mr Chigozie Ogwanba, Representative, Sharp Kitchen, said that business has been so dull and was beneath his expectations from day 1 of the LITF.
According to him, the high cost of dollars which impacted the end cost of kitchen items was responsible for the situation.
He, however, lauded LCCI’s performance for delivering as expected with regards to the ambience, security and facilities at the fair.
“When customers come and hear the price, many do not buy but LCCI performed excellently as this year is very nice.
“You can not blame organisers for no sales, but we expect that before the end of the fair, sales would pick up,” he said.
Mrs Mary Gold Adeeme, Chief Executive Officer, MaryGold Global Concepts, described the business this year as slow when compared to previous editions.
She, however, expressed optimism that things would change towards the end of the fair.
“You see the way Naira dropped and dollar increased and everything has gone up as a result.
“Sales this year has been slow but I am expectant that towards the end of the fair, there would be a rush and we can make both the capital and some gain,” she said.
Mrs Aseyi Bakah, a beauty brand dealer from Ghana, expressed optimism that sales would pick up between today till the end of the fair.
