SITEX 2022, held on a space of about 5381 sq. meters, was fully booked, said Mr. Suresh Patel, Chairman of SITEX. He added: “ So, we have planned a second edition of SITEX 2 in March 2022, in which whoever was not able to participate this time, can participate in the March edition. For Visitors, as per government guidelines we have followed for exhibition and fully vaccinated visitors were only allowed for exhibition. A total of 12000-15000 visitors visited the exhibition in 3 days. It’s purely B2B exhibition, and visitors came for pure business.”
Mr. Patel further said: “SGCCI has 1 lakh sq. feet in which we have utilized 50% only. Till now it’s a regional show, but it totally depends on market demand, ie both exhibitors and visitors are ready to come to Surat from the international market we are ready. International Exhibitors like Staubli and ITEMA Weaving already participated this year, they ignored Surat till now but they understood that a supplier they need to be there near the market not away from the market.”
Exhibitions become international when buyers and sellers both are international. Surat is the capital of manmade fibers, whereas Mumbai is the financial capital. India is the production country; international buyers can come to buy fabrics and garments, not machinery, Mr. Patel clarified.
SITEX and Business
In Surat every year the exhibition focus is different, as it depends on the trend of the market Earlier additional focus was embroidery machines, circular knitting, and this year the focus was on the rapier machines and jacquard machines. The exhibition focus is totally dependent on buyers’ perspectives, ie which trend will be selling in the future. As of now Banarasi dobby and jacquard were more in demand, Mr. Patel said.
As per the new trend, business needs to be started, by whoever has textile knowledge. Export is expected to increase in fabrics since yarn export is already doing well, said Mr. Patel.
