Wednesday, October 17, 2007 Russia ‘good’ market for RP
THE potential of Russia as a niche market of Cebu was confirmed by a 14-member trade mission from Cebu last month.
Officials of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and the Cebu Consulate of the Russian Federation visited Moscow and St. Petersburg, among others, to explore various trade and investment opportunities.
“The Russian market is waiting to be tapped. They are ready because they have the money,” said Armi Lopez Garcia, Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation in Cebu.
Garcia, along with CCCI president Francis Monera, past president Anastacio Muntuerto Jr., Honorary Consul of Portugal Samuel Chioson and exporters like Thaddeus Fernan of the Cebu Flamingo and Gifts Regalado of GiftsFashion traveled to Russia for a trade mission last Sept. 21-29.
Expo
Four Cebu exporters —Selections International, Cebu Flamingo, GiftsFashion and Pan Arts, which is owned by Garcia — also participated in a gifts expo in Moscow from Sept. 25 to 28.
Muntuerto said that during the visit, the delegation was able to verify that the Russians have high spending capacities, making them a potential market for tourism and trade.
“We have never seen that much luxury cars—Rolls Royce, Bentleys- pass by before. It only means people in Russia are rich and they spend a lot. That (makes them a) good market,” he said.
The Russians, too, have much to learn from the “happy go lucky” nature of Filipinos, Muntuerto said.
“People there are warm but they need to learn how to smile. That’s the strength of Filipinos because we are a happy people,” he said during a press conference yesterday at the Cebu City Sports Club.
Fernan, for his part, said the exhibit proved that prices of goods are not an issue among Russians.
Negotiations
“During the exhibit, 50 shop owners wanted to pay 30 percent down payment right away,” said Fernan.
He added that Cebu Flamingo is negotiating with four prospective direct importers from Russia.
Garcia said even when the prices of her fashion accessories went up three to four times, Russian buyers did not show any disapproval.
“They love anything made of pearls and shells,” she added.
Regalado, on the other hand, said her fashion accessories were sold out during the last day of the exhibit.
But she said that while Russians are “not very price sensitive,” they place high regard for quality and creativity, which she said are the competitive advantages of Philippine-made products.
In the same development, Monera said while Russia poses strong potentials for business and leisure, the challenge still lies in educating the market about tourism and trade opportunities in the Philippines, particularly in Cebu.
He raised the need to create business linkages between local firms and their Russian counterparts.
“We need to study their market through proper matching and establish more tie-ups,” he said.
Garcia also said she will beef up marketing and promotional efforts of Cebu to Russia for local stakeholders to gain a strong foothold in the Russian market. (MMM)
