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Mr P.H. Kurian (left), Secretary (Investment Promotion) and Director of Industries and Commerce, and the Managing Director of Kinfra, Dr G.C. Gopala Pillai, at a press conference in Kochi on Wednesday. - K.K. Mustafah

Kochi , Feb. 18

THE stage is set for the three-day Kerala Business-to-Business Meet 2004, the first attempt by the State Government to initiate a global marketing and branding exercise for manufacturing products from the State.

The meet, to be inaugurated by the State Industries Minister, Mr P.K. Kunhalikutty, on Thursday evening, will also be the venue for presentations from three foreign countries and a seminar on doing business with the Netherlands.

The keen interest evinced by the foreign countries is a clear indication of the potential for establishing stable and sustainable business relationship between Kerala and these countries, Mr P.H. Kurian, Secretary (Investment Promotion) and Director of Industries and Commerce, told reporters here.

The registration of the manufacturing units from the State received excellent response with 310 units registering as Kerala sellers. The maximum number of registration in sectors is for processed food and spices followed by ayurveda, rubber and plastics.

Similarly, tremendous response has been received from the buyer side with total registration crossing 380, he said.

Out of the eight foreign country embassies taking part in the event, Canada, Korea and Australia are making presentations about business opportunities existing in these countries while the seminar on `Doing Business with Netherlands' would highlight the same theme in a different manner. Besides presentations from abroad, leading national institutions such as Indian Railways, Director-General of Foreign Trade, Directorate-General of Stores and Disposals and Canara Bank are making presentations.

According to Mr Kurian, the right balance between traditional and modern and a critical mass in manufacturing capacity were used as the criteria to identify the 10 sectors to be presented in the meet.

The traditional sector such as coir, spices, handloom and handicrafts plays a significant role in the State's economy in terms of employment as well as income generation.

However, lack of proper marketing avenues at the global and national levels is a major problem facing a large number of entrepreneurs engaged in these sectors, he said.

By organising B2B, the Government hopes to bring the best names at the national and global level face-to-face with manufacturers in these sectors so that they could develop stable and sustainable business relationships. This will further avoid the intermediaries between the manufacturers and the buyer whereby reducing the final cost of the product, he added.

Describing the event as a global marketing and branding exercise, Dr G.C. Gopala Pillai, Managing Director, Kinfra, said that the three-day meet is an effort to show effectively the manufacturing practices of the State to the outside world.

It would also give a platform for the industry in the State to interact with buyers and provide a marketing opportunity for their products.

The Government is willing to set up a permanent centre for industrial exhibition in the State. The centre could be established in Kochi with private participation, he said.

More Stories on : E-Commerce & E-Business | Kerala

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