Sandugo Trade Expo expects 150 exhibitors

CEBU, Philippines — Local products will get the spotlight yet again.

Around 150 local businesses are joining this year’s Sandugo Trade Expo in Island City Mall in Tagbilaran City, Bohol on July 25-29.

In a press conference yesterday, Department of Trade and Industry regional head Asteria Caberte said the trade fair, dubbed as “Best of the Islands,” targets to rake in P25 million in sales from the initial target of P22 million.

The exhibitors will come from Visayas, Mindanao and Luzon to showcase products including those under the agency’s One Town One Product (OTOP) program.

Local products to be sold at the fair include souvenir items, wearables and homestyle (furniture, furnishings, fashion accessories), processed food, gifts and decors.  She cited furniture and processed food as among the fast selling products.

“We expect a lot of exporters to join who are looking for suppliers,” she said.

Some of the exhibitors also include the entrepreneurs who had undergone DTI’s Kapatid Mentor Me (KMM) program which aims to scale them up and improve their ability to become more competitive in business.

Aside from exhibitors from Central Visayas provinces, the trade expo will also gather local enterprises from different regions in Luzon and Mindanao.  Caberte said national and international buyers are expected to visit the fair including exporters, buying agents, wholesalers, retailers, manufacturers and subcontractors.

She said buying agents could come from big companies such as SM, Ayala, and Rustan’s, among others. She noted the sales could come from cash, booked orders and transactions under negotiation.  The expected robust sales, she said, will boost the revenues of participating micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

This year, Caberte said the trade marketing event is putting highlight on coffee and cacao (chocolate) as the emerging priority industry clusters.

The regional trade fair features products from various regions and is also seen to give market exposure to MSMEs, which make up around 99 percent of registered businesses in the country, and help various cottage industries.

The Sandugo fair is also deemed as a tourism activity, which aims to promote Bohol as a tourist destination.