19th April 2022, Kolkata: The Confederation of West Bengal Trade Associations (CWBTA), the apex trade body of eastern India representing 70 associations and over 1.5 million small and big traders, is ready to host the five-day Bengal Global Trade Expo–2022 (BGTE-2022) from April 20 to 24, 2022, at the Science City, Kolkata. The Mega Show is being organised under the aegis of Bengal Global Business Summit – 2022. There would be regular bus and auto services to the Science City to help visitors reach the venue during the BGTE-2020 with free entry for visitors.
“The Bengal Global Trade Expo – 2022 is the first such initiative of CWBTA to cover almost all aspects related to promotion of regional trade involving West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam and the Northern-eastern States as well as countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar and Thailand. Besides our immediate neighbouring countries, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, People’s Republic of Korea and others, about 25 countries in all are participating directly or indirectly at the Expo. We are confident that this Expo will be a catalyst in promoting trade in eastern India in the days ahead,” said CWBTA President, Mr Sushil Poddar.”
“This is the first time that the business community, traders, Government bodies, chambers of commerce have come together at the Bengal Global Trade Expo – 2022 to facilitate ease of doing business. The various departments of the Government of West Bengal will have pavilions for on-spot registration of MSMEs. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation would set up a facility to resolve disputes, pay taxes and address various queries of the consumers. The fire department would also have a similar set up while AMRI will set up a mini-hospital at the Expo,” said Mr N K Kapadia, Advisor and Summit Chairman, CWBTA.
The BGTE Expo- 2022 would be spread over 3.75 lac square feet area with 19 hangars, conference facilities and dedicated pavilions for Government bodies and institutions, top companies, trade bodies, manufacturers, traders, financial institutions and so on.
“This BGTE Expo-2022 will cover more than 15 sectors including electric vehicles and allied products, industrial hardware, electronics, solar, food processing, telecom and IT, textiles and garments, chemicals and petrochemicals, leather and footwear, real estate, gems and jewellery, automobiles and auto parts and others,” said Mr Mr V K Bhandari, Advisor CWBTA and Founder Chairman and Managing Director, Supertron.
During the five-day BGTE-Expo 2022 there would be seminars, business-to-business interactions, panel discussions and round tables related to promotion of trade, says Mr Rajesh Bhatia, Vice-President, CWBTA.
“Among foreign participants United Kingdom is bringing a 49-member delegation for the Gobal Summit in Kolkata who would also attend the Expo and scout for trading opportunities,” said Mr C K Varadarajan, Honorary General Secretary, CWBTA.
“The BGTE 2022 will pave the way for consolidating trade in the eastern region in a big way since CWBTA is also creating trade infrastructure – a Rs 100 crore Trade Logistics & Industrial Park at Amta, Howrah,” said Mr Gagan Sachdev, Exhibition Converner, CWBTA.
Mr Pradip Luhariwala, Treasurer, CWBTA, said, “The proposed CWBTA Rs 30-crore project to set up a 1.25 lakh square feet state-of-the-art Trading & Business Centre at Rajarhat, Salt Lake, will house, among others, facilities for permanent showcasing or display of a wide variety of products and services by more than thirty countries. This centre will function round-the-clock throughout the year.”
“Some of the top brands cutting across different sectors along with leading banks and financial institutions would also be participating at the Expo,” said Mr S K Choraria, past president,” CWBTA.
“The food courts at the BGTE- 2022 will serve meals to over 2000 persons each day and have provisions for catering to nearly 20,000 others with snacks and food. Kolkata’s leading caterer Munna Halwai has been engaged for this,” said Mr Arvind Daga, member, CWBTA.
“The regional trade in eastern India is full of growth potential and can double over the next few years with other free trade agreements with BIMSTEC countries expected to be signed soon,” said Mr P L Shah, Vice-President, CWBTA.
“The BGTE 2022 will showcase a huge range of products and services that would expand the volume of trading in future,” said Mr Asish Agarwal, member, CWBTA.
CWBTA is confident that BGTE-2022 would open up new opportunities and B2B deals to boost regional trade, said Mr Binod Sancheti, member, CWBTA.
The BGTE-2022 is providing a unique opportunity to small traders to be a part of a mega show to showcase their products and services to a national and global audience, said Mr Amit Bagri, member, CWBTA.