Indo-Asian exhibition in Ludhiana: Border tension spooks traders from Pakistan
Escalating tension between India and Pakistan has taken a heavy toll on the bilateral trade, however, the business between the two countries should not suffer owing to the bitterness, said a textile trader from Lahore, Pakistan at the Indo-Asian wedding and lifestyle exhibition that kicked off on Saturday at a city hotel.
Escalating tension between India and Pakistan has taken a heavy toll on the bilateral trade, however, the business between the two countries should not suffer owing to the bitterness, said a textile trader from Lahore, Pakistan at the Indo-Asian wedding and lifestyle exhibition that kicked off on Saturday at a city hotel.
Talking to HT, Osama, 24, earlier he used to get a visa easily but ever since the ties between the two countries severed, he was communicated about the visa confirmation just a day prior to the expo. Moreover, there was an intensive scrutiny involved before getting the clearance from the embassy this time.
Osama visits India 6 to 8 times in a year to participate in exhibitions. Drawing maximum visitors, the prominent designers from Dubai also made their presence felt at the exhibition.
On being asked what kind of response he has been getting in India, Osama shared, “The response in India has exceeded our expectations each time we visit here.” sama attributed the great response garnered by them to the exclusive range of a pure chiffon fabric which is not available in India. India rather has semi-chiffon and georgette fabric near to the pure chiffon available in Pakistan. The rich soft fabric of pure chiffon is its USP. His trade companions at the counter shared that Mukeish (popularly known as Mokaish), a metallic unique embroidery, digital prints and Kamdani fabric also remain hot favourites among buyers here. Osama and his trade companions from Pakistan have put up three counters at the exhibition. They admitted that trade has been affected lately and need to be improved at the earliest.
The exhibition has a wide range of stalls ranging from designer clothes, jewellery, semiprecious and fashion jewellery, home décor products, furniture, handbags and accessories among other items on display. The designers at the exhibition have come from Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Amritsar and Ludhiana apart from couple of overseas brands. Pankaj Jain, the organiser of the exhibition, said, “Ludhiana has a tremendous buying potential and we have always received a phenomenal response in the city.”
