Monday, November 13, 2006 Local exporters to sell products at lowered rates
EXPORTERS in Cebu are giving people, who did not have the chance to witness and take advantage of the Cebu International Furniture and Furnishings shows or Cebu X, to experience the international exhibit through the first Grand Export Sale in Cebu.
Michael Basubas, president of the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation Inc. (CFIF), said the five-day event, which will kick off on Nov. 17 at SM City Cebu, is the local version of the CFIF’s Cebu X.
“This is even more than the Cebu X because the event will also feature not just export quality furniture and furnishings but other products of Cebu exporters, such as arts and crafts, house ware, fashion accessories, garments, fresh and processed food, gift items and toys,” he told a press conference last Thursday.
The Grand Export Sale is organized by the CFIF and the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) in partnership with the Canadian International Development Agency-Private Enterprise Accelerated Resource Linkages (Pearl) 2.
Miriam Bacalso, Pearl 2 replication specialist, said the project is funding the event and is subsidizing 50 percent of the exhibit costs incurred by each exhibitor.
Pearl 2 is a five-year project of the Canadian government that began in 2002. It seeks to support the development of small and medium enterprises that create meaningful jobs for men and women by strengthening and supporting business support organizations, such as CFIF and MCCI and investment promotion centers.
MCCI president Eric Mendoza said the event is a pre-Christmas offering to the public showcasing export quality products at “very affordable prices” manufactured in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue, Cebu; and in Dauis and Inabangga, Bohol as well as other parts of the Visayas.
Aside from the export sale, seminars and forums will also be held at the SM conference halls. (JBN)
