Bangkok Gift And Houseware Fair Attracts Exhibitors, Buyers

BANGKOK, October 19 (TNA) - The 38th Bangkok International Gift Fair and Bangkok International Houseware Fair (BIG + BIH) opens Sunday at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Center (BITEC) on the outskirt of Bangkok. The five-day fair is organised under the concept of ‘ASEAN Life + Style’, said Deputy Commerce Minister Apiradee Tantraporn who presided over the opening of the fair. Mrs. Apiradee said the fair would allow foreign buyers worldwide to conduct businesses with Thai gift and houseware producers and exporters. About 600 local and foreign manufacturers are participating the fair. Most foreign producers are from Japan, Taiwan and from the three Indochinese countries - Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Jiraboon Vittayasing, secretary-general of Thai Lifestyle Product Federation, said he expected more foreigners are expected to participate at the ongoing fair on concerns of the unrest situation in Hong Kong which happens to organise a fair almost the same time as Bangkok. Mr. Jiraboon said he expected that more than 12,000 people would attend and conduct businesses at the BIG + BIH fair while purchase orders would exceed 3 billion baht. On Thailand’s exports of gift and souvenir products this year, Mr. Jiraboon said it would total about 100 billion baht, up 2 per cent from last year, while they would sustain growth of between 3 – 4.5 per cent in 2015. Major importers are Japan and European countries. (TNA)