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Exhibitors shun Trade Fair

    JOHANNESBURG

    The number of exhibitors at this year’s Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo has dropped from 800 last year to 620, while the number of participating countries has also declined from 28 to 17, media reports said.

    Graham Rowe, the general manager of ZITF, said: “The number of exhibitors this year is down. Any exhibition is a mirror of the economy of the country.” He added that the low turnout at the fair was worsened by the negative publicity the country received abroad.

    The president of the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce, Nhlanhla Masuku, said some big companies had not turned up. “The negative publicity is a reality. If you are a foreigner and you are shown pictures of a white man with blood, and you are told people have died and blacks are killing whites, you say my life is at risk.”

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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