Canada fair begins today

The second Canada Showcase-2012 starts today to exhibit Canadian products and services to the customers in Bangladesh.
The showcase will take place at Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka, said Masud Rahman, president of Canada Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, yesterday.
The chamber and Canadian High Commission in Dhaka are jointly organising the two-day show, he said.
Over 40 stalls of Canada and Bangladesh will showcase their products and services, he said, adding that six seminars will also take place on current business issues on the sidelines of the fair.
The bilateral trade between Canada and Bangladesh crossed $1 billion mark in 2009, he said. In 2011, the export of Bangladesh to Canada was $1.7 billion and import was calculated at $555 million.
Ninety five percent of Bangladesh's export to Canada is garment items, he said. Bangladesh imports iron and steel, lentils, cereals, machinery, oil-seeds, electrical machinery and pharma-ceuticals, Rahman said.
For recent development in bilateral trade, Canadian investments are also coming to Bangladesh in sectors like energy, infrastructures, renewable energy and telecom.
At present, the value of total Canadian investment in Bangladesh is $300 million, he said.
"We target to diversify the exportable products of Bangladesh to the Canadian market. We have the potential to export pharmaceuticals products, leather and leather goods, footwear, plastic products, furniture, ceramics products and bicycle."
“We want to brand a positive Bangladesh in Canada by increasing bilateral trade and good relations between the two countries,” he said.
The show will remain open for visitors without any entrance fee from 12noon to 8pm in the first day and from 10:30am to 7pm in the second day, he said.
There were 20 stalls in the first Canada Showcase 2011 in Dhaka, Rahman said.