The 44th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF) officially opened here in Tanzania’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam on Friday with Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa attending the opening ceremony.
The COVID-19 outbreak should be a lesson to farmers and industrialists to produce more crops and products that could be used in times of epidemics, said Majaliwa during the ceremony.
“When there are enough food stocks and other necessities produced in industries, it becomes a huge relief during outbreak of epidemics such as the COVID-19,” he added.
He thanked the 2,837 local exhibitors and 43 foreign exhibitors for their participation in the trade fair amid the COVID-19 threats, adding that the situation in Tanzania was almost under control.
Due to COVID-19 outbreak, the number of foreign exhibitors to the 44th DITF has dropped sharply from last year’s 580 to 43.
The foreign exhibitors this year came from China, Syria, India, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Ghana, said Majaliwa.
Majaliwa pledged that the government will continue creating a conducive environment for doing business in the country after he had visited a number of local and foreign pavilions.
The DITF is an annual major promotional event which has established itself over years as a shop window for Tanzanian products as well as for the east, central and southern African region.
The fair exhibits agricultural products, food and beverages, textiles, garments, manufacturing equipment, building materials and automobiles.
It is also a business platform for chemicals and cosmetics, timber and furniture, trade services, engineering products, machinery, information technology, handicrafts, consultancy and training.
The fair will last until July 13.
