Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 6: Seven Kerala State PSUs have signed up with India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) to put up their wares in the `Made in India' trade fair in Egypt scheduled for mid-April.This is for the first time that so many PSUs in the state are making a concerted hunt for new global markets utilising the union commerce ministry's flagship organisation for international fairs.
Apart from the Alappuzha-based DC Mills, Kottayam-based Josco Rubber and Thiruvananthapuram-based Pankaj Herbal Products, a couple of tea companies in the state- all in the private sector-have also sought stalls in the trade fair in Egypt.
The abundance of bulk-drugs, automobile components, electrical products including transformers, software, coir products and chemicals in Egypt's import basket afforded scope for more result-oriented market exploration, said a spokesman of Kerala Drugs and Pharmaceuticals (KSDP), a state PSU seeking participation in the show. The spokesman of Kerala State Export PromotionCouncil (Keraxil), the State's nodal agency with ITPO, refused to divulge the identities of the PSU participants since the state's clearance for their participation was provisional.
Sources told The Financial Express that Transformers and Electricals Kerala (TELK), Foam Mattings Limited and Kerala Automobiles Limited (KAL) are also likely to set up stalls in the Egyptian trade fair. "With the prevailing lull in the domestic markets, the need to identify and develop global sales points has become more relevant," said the chief executive of a state PSU. Considering that the participation in international trade fairs is usually perceived as an unaffordable excercise for the fund-starved state PSUs, a generous subsidy-effect through the intervention of Keraxil is likely to be the immediate impulse behind the new-found interest in global markets.
The rental for a basic 9-sqm stall in ITPO's overseas fairs usually comes to nearly Rs 2 lakh. With state subsidy and the cost-telescoping through bulk booking ofpavilion-space, the Keraxil route to trade fair participation may cost the companies only about Rs 85,000, inclusive of travelling and freight costs. Not all exporting PSUs in the state were enthusiastic about Keraxil's shepherding of Kerala companies to the Egyptian market. According to the marketing head of a state PSU with export thrust, Egypt was not a viable export destination at all. "If we should spend money on exploring overseas market, why should we choose another Third World country," he asked.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
