Aimed at showcasing Indian products, especially from the micro, small and medium enterprises, in the international market, the Rubber Board has launched a virtual trade fair for rubber and rubber products.
Inaugurating the fair on Thursday, Rubber Board Executive Director K.N. Raghavan said the virtual trade fair would become a harbinger of change for the marketing of rubber and rubber products.
According to him, rubber products exports fetch ₹25,000 crore in foreign exchange and proper positioning of a product is an absolute requirement for marketing it.
“New manufacturers, especially in the MSME sector, need to constantly showcase their products as they need to make improvisations, innovations and incremental value additions on a constant basis. The virtual trade fair provides the platform for each member of the sector for buying, selling and moving their business forward. This would also be a perfect place for buyer-seller meets,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Divakar Nath Misra, Joint Secretary (Plantations), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said India exported around 30,000 rubber products and there as scope for expansion of the sector, especially the MSMEs. Representatives of industry associations were also present
As per estimates, Indian rubber product exports witnessed an annual growth rate of 4% last year. The general observation is that the sector possesses inherent capacity for further growth. The industries falling under the category of MSME sector in the non-tyre sector could benefit from this trade fair by getting greater exposure to the international market.
The Virtual Trade Fair, to be hosted on the official website of the Rubber Board, also offers virtual conference facilities, online meetings with international buyers and livestreaming of events. The visitors could visit individual stalls and could understand the products offered by different sellers. A real-time chat facility to speak directly to the seller is also built into the system.
